Loading summary
Transcript47 lines
- [00:00]
A
As a man, finding a truly great pair of pants can feel impossible. Some wrinkle the moment you sit down. Others look fine but don't travel well, don't move well, or completely lose their shape throughout the day when you're flying, commuting or packing light. Most pants just aren't built for real life.
- [00:16]
B
That's why There's Jack Archer. JackArcher.com makes the jetsetter tech pant designed to be the one pair of pants you actually need. Comfortable enough for travel, polished enough for work and and versatile enough for wherever the day takes you. The Jetsetter Tech Pant is wrinkle free, stain resistant and built for all day comfort. With flexible stretch, customizable fit options and thousands of five star reviews, these are the pants you'll reach for every day.
- [00:42]
A
Jack Archer Ready when you are. For a limited time, get 15% off your first order using code getjack@jackarcher.com again that's promo code getjack@jackarcher dot com for 15% off your first order.
- [00:57]
C
Before we get back to the episode, let's take a quick break from all the shoulds. You know the ones I should be productive. I should be checking something. I should be anywhere but relaxing. Ignore all that for a second. This is your moment made even better with something refreshing like a Snapple. Alright, let's have some fun. Snapple. Real facts real fact 2064 the first college football game broadcast on TV was September 30, 1939. Imagine gathering around a tiny screen for that. Real fact 1896 the tradition of playing football on Thanksgiving actually started with college football back in 1876. So yeah, that post turkey nap has a long history. Real fact 831 adults laugh about 15 to 100 times a day while preschoolers average around 300. We've got some catching up to do. And real fact 1,455 movie trailers used to play after movies but no one stayed to watch them. So skipping ahead has kind of always been our thing. All right, that's your break. Short, sweet and a little more fun. Next time you need one, grab a Snapple and make it refreshing. Indiana can can sort of cement itself
- [02:33]
D
as we are no longer this team
- [02:34]
C
that's going to be fighting for six wins anymore.
- [02:36]
D
Malachi Toney Is he going to be ready?
- [02:38]
E
Dante Mora he showed improvement. Better command. What's going on y'?
- [02:49]
D
All?
- [02:49]
E
This is Bud Elliott of COVID 3 podcast and this is Summer School. We are in session today covering the all things Auburn. We're gonna go to Auburn undercover. That's Nathan King joins us once again to break down the Tigers.
- [02:59]
D
Nathan, what's going on, man? I'm doing pretty good. How are you, bud?
- [03:02]
E
Doing well, man. So last year, 5 and 7 for Auburn, Hugh Freeze ends up getting fired. You know, last place has to see like, well, there's nowhere SEC west, but you know, certainly not the season they were hoping for. This year though, new coach comes in, Alex Golesch. You know, I think exciting times there on, on the plains. What's kind of your general feel for this so far?
- [03:27]
D
Yeah, I mean, Golish is look as as many first year coach cliches as you want to, as you want to hand out. I think the one for Golish would be, you know, attention to detail. He is a very, a very intense, day by day guy. He said when he got hired that he had every single day planned out at Auburn through December. And he wasn't exaggerating. I mean it is definitely been an intense operation for them. But you know, aside from, aside from trying to quote unquote, flip the culture from, from Hugh Freeze, look, it's, it's basically taking a team that had a lot of talent but couldn't produce because of, because of coaching and now having a team that maybe on the offensive side has quote, unquote, less talent. Now they're relying on a bunch of USF transfers, but probably putting a more competent coach in place, probably putting a more competent offensive system in place and a system with a lot of familiarity. I mean they're, they're really banking on, you know, the Indiana type plan. Now that's, that's the gold standard. But obviously there's lots of other programs that have followed the plan of hey, hire a coach and, and get his quarterback. And from my understanding that was part of Auburn's interview process. When they interviewed Alex Golish, he told them, I'm pretty sure I can get my quarterback as well. Like that is something nowadays that, that really matters. It bridges that gap in year one. It makes for less of a transition period when you're taking over a program. And so, you know, another big thing for Golish was retaining DJ Durkin. I thought, you know, this was an awkward defense that for the past couple years under Durkin performed almost in spite of the offense. It was a pretty consistent group in spite of where Auburn was finishing in the SEC despite, you know, how, how uncompetitive they were on the field and on the offensive side. And so I think that group really doesn't give you that much to worry about. Like, they're still going to be a pretty solid SEC unit. And so it allows you to focus on Byron Brown, focus on these USF transfers, and try to give Auburn a competent, workable offense for the first time and quite, quite a long time.
- [05:25]
E
So this Golash system, you know, kind of the. The veer and shoot, if you will, it's not what Freeze was running. I think in some ways it's not like that drastic of a change in theory compared to maybe if you were going, I mean, not like a traditional I formation team, but, you know, maybe a team that runs something very different. Right. Has that proven true? Like, is there any kind of like, like, you know, ways that can maybe speed run this thing? As far as the transition, There's.
- [05:52]
D
Yeah. I mean, in terms of speed running it, having your coordinator and play caller obviously makes a huge, huge difference. Joel Gordon is a guy who's been with Alex Golish going back to their time at Iowa State, obviously. His associate head coach is Cody Burns. That's a name that Auburn fans remember. He, he won a national title in 2010. Had some different stops throughout the way, but he was go associate head coach at USF last season. They also coached together at Tennessee. Yeah, I mean, in terms of the system, like tempo being the number one thing, that's no surprise. It's also interesting that after a day, Golish talked about how useful things are going to be for his defense, because he was like, look, when I started at Tennessee, as his goal is, like, this was almost a novel concept. Like it was the new thing to do, you know, just split way out and try to take advantage of a numbers game. He said, we're going to see five SEC teams on our schedule that run exactly what we run. So it's, it's no longer like the new flashy, almost like back when Gus Malzahn started at Auburn, where it's like, hey, just figure out a way to stop it. No longer is it that. But I think the most encouraging thing if you're an Auburn fan is listening to Alex Golish. Early on when he took over some of the language he used talking about his offense, he said, look, I know what's worked in the past and we're going to try to do it. But he said, I'm not, I'm not hamstrung to any one system. I'm not hamstrung to a player. I'm not hamstrung to one exact thing. He's like, the name of the game is Adaptation and looking at a quarterback and fitting a system, it's almost a complete other end of the spectrum from. And I'm not just, you know, this is not just to knock you Freeze, but like Hugh Freeze said repeatedly, I know what's worked for me in the past and we're going to run it here and it's going to work like that sort of, you know, just, just ram, ram up against the wall until it works. Alex Gollish understands that while you know the veer and shoot, this offense that he adopted from Josh Hypo, while it is the basis for everything they do and right now he's got a mobile quarterback that's just one read and go, he may not have that in the future. So I think right now, this, this coming season the best, the best of this will look like, you know, the Hendon Hooker Tennessee offense because you've got a guy who maybe sort of resembles that. After the season we'll see what they have at quarterback. But for right now I would expect that thing to be. I don't know how many games are going to win, but at least the offense I think will be humming and be a pretty consistent product.
- [08:04]
E
So obviously fan is short for. Fan is short for fanatica. I read the Auburn undercover boards and I feel like they're just discovering Byron Brown's throwing motion for the first time. But like those of us who watch, you know, a lot of football across the country have seen this guy throw for like three seasons now. You know, we, we saw him as the, the guy that, that they had to throw in against, against, you know, Tulsa on the road a couple years ago when they fought pretty hard, you before gosh, even came in. Right. He's been very effective at USF like throwing like that. His motion's not traditional and I don't like, they're not trying to like change this guy's throwing motion and like they're not worried about it, right? Like they know, they know what they brought in. Like he's the starter. This is all just, just kind of just off season craziness. Right?
- [08:52]
D
It definitely made for some talking point. Look, Byron Brown has, has given himself some talking points whether you're an Auburn fan, whether you're somebody else with a couple things at throughout the spring, maybe if he had just come in and things have been, you know, pretty seamless. But on the first day of spring we get out there at practice and there was a video obviously of him and his throwing motion. And if you want to know, the coaching staff's Opinion on it. Alex Gollish quote, tweeted it, which is the day of the first game. He said, like September 6, 2026. See you guys there. Like, it's, They've known this guy for years. I mentioned Joel Gordon. Not only is he the play caller in the oc, he's been Byron Brown's quarterbacks coach now for four years. Like, they're not going to try to change anything. There was a video that our, that our video intern Patrick Bingham took with him warming up before a day, and it was like an even more zoomed in version of kind of that hitch. Is it clunky? Absolutely. Does he look like an NFL quarterback? Absolutely not. But Alex Golish is not in the, is not in the industry of trying to produce an NFL quarterback. He's in the industry of trying to produce a guy who wins college football games. And so it'll be interesting to see if it comes. If anything comes of it. I know that, like, the easy answer is people looking at it and saying, well, that's a strip sack waiting to happen. You know, he hasn't had a bunch of those in his career. I'll be interested, like, getting to talk to Byron Brown more like closer to the season. Like talking to him about the development of his throwing motion. I've seen USF fans like chime in and say, oh, it's gotten even worse from last season. So. But to answer your question of like, no, Auburn's not worried about it at all. They look about a guy who, you know, they look at a guy who threw for 3k and ran for 1k last year and we're like, they're like, don't touch him. Don't, don't try to fix anything. He's, he's probably the most excitable quarterback Auburn's had entering a season. And since they have Bo Nicks, so they're like, nope, let him do what he's going to do. It's worked for him in the past. If it works, you know, at a decent level this season, then that'll be great.
- [10:37]
E
So he brought Neptune, Pettigrew and Koger from USF for in the receiving core.
- [10:42]
D
Right. And Singleton and Jazz Nimrod.
- [10:46]
E
Singleton, I thought had some real upside, by the way. Like watching him, he felt kind of different, you know, like just, you know, physical tools and whatnot from some of the other guys at usf. Is that the group? Like, are there any existing Auburn guys who you're like, oh, yeah, like he's still having in the rotation.
- [11:02]
D
It's a great question because obviously, like, you lose so much at receiver, you lose a guy like Cam Coleman, who I think Auburn fans have just tried to turn a blind eye to, like, Texas spring practice. But you look over there and you're like, oh, my goodness, that guy is just going to be a monster. And Malcolm Simmons and Eric Singleton, like good players they had. It's really at the top. It's the, it's the more experienced USF trio. You mentioned Singleton. He's the one. It's like, has done it, has produced, was their number one receiver last year. Coger, they think has the highest NFL upside. Like, he's still a really young guy, caught eight touchdowns as a true freshman. He's actually a guy that, that Alex Gor just really got on this spring. He's like, he's got effort problems. He needs to give his all throughout practice. Singleton was suspended for the first couple drives. Maybe that's too harsh of a word, but he didn't play the first couple drives of a day. And Golis was like, yeah, he's not practicing hard enough. Like these guys he knows, he's known for years. He's like, I'm going to coach you hard. Chaz Nimrod is probably the one who's going to pop the most. Like, we could not go a day at practice without hearing his name. Tennessee. Former Tennessee transfer and former USF transfer. He's been with Golish throughout this whole thing. Finally healthy. He's been injured the past couple of years, but you asked the question of, you know, who that actually signed with Auburn, you know, initially is gonna make hay in the receiver room. And that's, that's the question. They need a true number four receiver right now. It. It might be a guide to Sean Spencer, who is a true freshman. He basically stepped into Ryan Williams shoes at Saraland, at the. The powerhouse in South Alabama. And all he did as a Senior was catch 14 touchdowns and have 1500. Excuse me, 20 touchdowns, have 1400 receiving yards. And so he won a day MVP as a, as a freshman at slot receiver. Now, obviously, that's not like spring games or whatever. We've been talking about how Byron Brown's spring game performance doesn't matter, but Spencer's been really coming on throughout the space throughout the spring. Bryce Kane is the only remaining member of the Freeze four, which were those Big four receiver signees that they had. He's the only guy still sticking around. They'd like for him to take a step forward. We'll see what that looks like. But that is kind of a question to worry about this season. But it's like they think they have those top three receivers from usf. And you mentioned those other guys, Pettigrew and Neptune also came from usf. Not as highly productive, but they do need a fourth receiver. They were after a bunch of guys in the portal and just, just didn't get a lot of guys. All the names are Noah Rogers, the one who. The one who went to. Went to Alabama.
- [13:25]
E
Yeah.
- [13:25]
D
And had that injury in the spring game. They were. They had him on campus for a visit and so they weren't able to secure another high level receiver in the portal. So they would like somebody to step up on the current roster and become the number four receiver.
- [13:36]
E
Offensive line. They took four guys who are I guess technically listed as, as tackles through the portal. What's the offensive line look like this year?
- [13:44]
D
Right now? Only two guys that I would write down in pen for the starting lineup. They got the USF center, which is obviously a big deal. The two year starting center from usf. His name is Cole Best. A little bit of NFL upside with him, like has really good frame. Honestly, a lot of stuff he does kind of reminds you of Connor Lu, who will probably be like a round two around three pick here in a couple days, but his connection with Byron Brown obviously is really important. And then Joe Simmons, the left tackle, James Madison Transfer, 6, 5, 3, 30. A guy who clearly was ready to make the G5 jump from a program like James Madison, which is funny to say because obviously they were in the playoff and Auburn would like to be doing what they were doing, but really it's just those two guys. Other than that you mentioned all the guys that they brought in. There's lots of competition. Stanton Ramil is a Michigan State transfer. He's actually a former Alabama native from Thompson High School. They would like him to step up and be their right tackle, but he missed all spring. So we'll see if he's able to get in there. A guy that. A name that I would keep an eye on is Derek Plaz, a transfer from Miami. A guy who didn't play. Didn't play last season because obviously Miami's offensive line was tremendous and he was only a true freshman last year. But when I went to the Senior bowl in February, I talked to some of those. I think Miami had three offensive linemen there at the Senior bowl and all three of them were like this guy, like if he puts it together and he's in a good offensive system, like he is going to Flourish and all of them thought he would play guard, even though he's, he's technically a tackle when he came in, that's exactly what he's doing. He started all throughout the spring at, at left guard. So that is the name of the game, of course is trying to get a quality offensive line. First year coach Tyler Hudnik is one of the youngest assistants in the SEC. He's only 29 years old. This group needs to be pretty solid this year. But at the same time, perhaps Byron Brown allows you to not have a top rung offensive line in the sec. Perhaps what he is able to do as a runner keeps that from being a major issue. But yeah, that, that group in particular the competition is going to be really interesting because like I said, really only two guys right now that I'm fully confident will be starting on day one.
- [15:49]
E
Are you pretty confident this offense is better than last year's offense?
- [15:52]
D
Absolutely. Okay, for sure. Just mainly because. And we saw the heights of last year's offense, like what they were capable of doing, particularly against a team like Vanderbilt, six days after Freeze got fired. That's yeah, obviously no, no coincidence there. But that is the question though of like what we talked about the outset of like talent versus system. Like they had all the talent in the world last season, but as you and I have talked about on this show before, their quarterback situation also was not very good. And that was, that was Hugh Freeze's thing, was just whiffing on transfer quarterbacks and bringing in guys that you were kind of like maybe. And Jackson Arnold. I kind of was like maybe. If everything clicks right. It didn't click right. He was in Hugh Freeze's system that wasn't very good. And so I think if nothing else, this group will be more consistent game to game. Will they have their clunks? Absolutely. Will they have a game where they score 40 plus on somebody in the SEC? I think so. So, like, I just think whatever gets this team to, to a winning record, you know, is obviously the name of the game for them. But I do think from top to bottom it'll be a little bit more consistent of a group. Even though technically probably at every position on the field, they're actually less talented than they were last year.
- [17:02]
E
Is there a guy on this offense who you're like, you're not expecting it this year. The staff is probably not expecting you this year. But if for some reason it clicks this year. Right. A year ahead of schedule, if you will, it really changes how you view this offense.
- [17:17]
D
I don't know about changes in a major way, but there are a couple young guys that I think are capable of being really good players in the backfield. They do need a number two behind Jeremiah Cobb. They think it's going to be Bryson Washington. That's a big name like that. That was a really big pickup for them. Two year leading rusher at Baylor. We'll see. But Nakai Davenport is the guy who did some really nice things throughout the spring. He was USF's leading rusher as a running back last year. Obviously Byron Brown was the leading rusher on the team, but great size. Like a true like six foot, six foot one running back with a lot of good physical tools. They think if he can click right away in the sec that'll make a big deal. I'll. I'll go back and talk about Derek Plaz. Like a guy that has all the physical tools. You could want to be a reliable starting guard. If that clicks right away for him, that's obviously very important. And then at the tight end position they pretty much have just one guy that I feel very confident about right now and you don't really need much more than that. They got Jake Johnson, obviously brother of brother Max Johnson, bringing him over former North Carolina and LSU or excuse me, North Carolina, Texas A&M transfer. He's the number one guy. He's the veteran. But they have a guy, Jonathan Echols who was at USF last season. Super, super athletic. If he can pop right away. He missed a lot of the spring with a, with a minor injury recovery. If he can pop right away, I think that'll make a pretty big difference. And then I'll just throw out default Spencer's name again. You know, true freshman that if he can give them a reliable number four receiver that that makes a big deal because that makes a big difference. Because like I said, they did miss on some transfer receivers for sure.
- [18:46]
E
All right, let's take our first break. Here we come back. We'll dive into this Auburn defense and also the schedule with Nathan King.
- [18:54]
C
Furniture shopping can be overwhelming. There are so many options and it's hard to know what's actually worth it. That's why I always turn to reviews to guide my decisions. If something has hundreds of five star reviews, I'm paying attention. And Bob's Discount Furniture has tons of highly rated pieces that make choosing a whole lot easier. Like their Elm dining set which has over 700 five star reviews. It's a gorgeous setup with a real marble table and comfortable Boba pedic seating that is instantly upgrades your dining space and at 9.99 it's a super approachable way to get that high end look. Or check out Bob's Copper Radiance Queen Extra Firm Mattress. Over 400 five star reviews and recommended by Consumer Reports. It's designed with a copper infused cover and high density Boba Pedic foam for support. Plus it comes with a 20 year warranty. And if you're looking for a sofa upgrade, the modular Bob Sectional is a customer favorite with over 1,000 five star reviews. It's got soft, durable upholstery storage, wireless charging and starts at just 250 per piece so you can customize it without overthinking it. For quality furniture and everyday low prices, shop at Bob's. It's where America shops for furniture.
- [20:24]
D
There's never been a better time to get outside and experience the benefits of nature, discover nearby trails and explore the outdoors with alltrails. Download the free app today and find your outside.
- [20:39]
F
It's Charles Barkley here with Wayfair, and let me tell you, game day is serious business at my house. If I'm grilling, chilling and watching hoops, my outdoor setup better be ready to play. That's where Wayfair wins. From patio seating and umbrellas to grills and grill accessories, Wayfair's got it all and it shows up fast. I'm talking fast and easy delivery. So level up your grill game and your outdoor chill game and head to Wayfarer.com to get your outdoor space ready for the season.
- [21:06]
E
Wayfair Every style, Every home. Hey guys, welcome back here to summer school. On the COVID for your college football podcast, that's Nathan King of Auburn Undercover does a great job breaking down the Tigers and there's a lot of new stuff to break down. So I'm, I'm very happy we are doing this one defensively, obviously, you know, some continuity there, but also some, some changeover certainly with with personnel. I'm a little worried about this D line. Maybe I shouldn't be, but like losing Falk and Williams, like those were like two really talented guys who I think were still kind of ascending. And, and you know, in the best case, I think Auburn's probably, you know, hoping to keep those guys, you know, from the draft and from Georgia. Now unfortunately Williams, you know, has an ACL injury at Georgia there, but that's Georgia. We're talking to Auburn. They bring in Deshaun Womack from Ole Miss. What does this D line look like and how good do you think it can be?
- [22:03]
D
I Feel like we've gone into the last four or five seasons with, with questions particularly about the interior defensive line. Now it kind of stretches to the outside and I'm not saying I'm completely set and settled on what they're going to look like on the interior. But you mentioned desean Womack. He's probably the, the number one like Keldrick Falk, replacement on this team. And you can do a lot worse than that. Like his numbers weren't unbelievable at Ole Miss, but he's a guy with a lot of physical talent. He's become a veteran leader for this team right away. And rushing the passer because they lose Kieran Crawford as well. That's a guy who actually was more productive than Keldrick Falk last season. That was because Falk was garnering double teams on every single play. So somebody had to be able to come in. But Kieran Crawford's probably going to be a draft pick here in a few days and he was really, really good for them. His replacement is probably going to be Jared Smith, a guy that they were really excited to retain. And you mentioned some of the continuity. I think that some of the most important pieces for DJ Durkin the season are going to be signees from the 2025 class that they convinced to come back. Like obviously Auburn fans were upset when, understandably when a guy like Cam Coleman, you know, walked away on the offensive side. But if you look on the defense, they kept almost everybody from that signing class on the defensive side. Obviously that was the hope when you bring back DJ Durkin. But Jared Smith was, was chief among those, a five star prospect. He was, he was the defensive MVP at eight, a six foot six and 240 pounds. Got an interception just because he's six foot six and just stuck his hands up on a screen pass. Golich said last week after scrimmage. He said, I hope I don't regret saying Jared Smith has taken a huge step forward. They're kind of looking at a guy who is, got five star potential, can be a really, really good player and saying is he starting to break through? Is he starting to become that player? And so on the interior defensive line as well. Retention, retention, retention was key. Malik Autry was a five star recruit. A guy who was who was thinking about going to Ohio State out of high school, decides to come to Auburn, decides to stick around. Jordan Crawford is just a bowling ball of a nose tackle. Can he take a step forward and then retention as well. They, they get Dallas Walker and that's a name that we maybe would have been talking about on the show at Texas A M, like five years ago. He's still playing college football and he's Auburn starting nose tackle. He gets an extra year of eligibility from the ncaa and he was, he was a solid player last year. Like, nothing flashy, but just a space eater on the inside. And like, those guys don't grow on trees in the portal. Like, it's much easier to just welcome that guy right back in your building than it is to sit down with your staff and say, hey, we got to get a starting nose tackle from the portal. And it's like, okay, well, you and everybody else in the country wants that. And so, yeah, I mean, I feel like this group has the potential on the D line to be pretty solid. Not the star power of last year. But as we'll probably talk about that second level makes you feel a lot better because that linebacker, you bring back an all American and potentially the linebacking corps is the best position group on this team.
- [24:52]
E
I mean, I agree. Like, they look like one of the best backing course in, in the SEC for sure. And man, that Jared Smith thing is so exciting. Like, if you get a guy that could really take over a game. Auburn fans have obviously had that before at defensive tackle. Maybe not quite as much in recent years, but like, you know, throughout some of their better teams over the last couple decades, like, it often had a defensive tackle who really took over the game, including like now I forget the guy's name, but on the Cam Newton team, it was, it was fairly, fairly.
- [25:19]
D
Yeah, there we go.
- [25:20]
E
Okay. I mean, like, they, they've had some guys like that before. If Smith could be that guy more consistently, that, that goes a long way for this defense, especially because I'm not sure this is why like, like I use summer school for my season prep, to be honest. Like, it. It's hard, you know, to do the national thing and cover that many teams without having a great expert, you know, like network of experts to lean on here from 24 7. Who. The who is playing defensive because like, they're all, like, all the most experienced guys are gone, it looks like, except for what Caleb Harris they've got to
- [25:57]
D
safety and nickel has a bunch of options. But Corner is definitely gollish said himself. He said his number one concern is cornerback. You lose Kate, you lose two starters at corner. And like in the sec, that's not easy. And they both go to SEC schools. K and Lee transfers to Tennessee and Jay Crawford transfer soul Miss. So you'll see both of them this season. Yeah. Safety and nickel I feel less concerned about. I mentioned the retention from last season. Eric Winters and Anquan Fagans, Both former top 100 recruits, they got on the field a bunch as freshmen. Winters is probably the best player of that group. He's like 6 foot 2, 6 foot 3, just. He's going to be a draft pick at safety. He's their strong safety this coming season. And then the amount of guys they have there allows an 1 fagans to move down to nickel. And like, that's just such a natural fit for him because all he wants to do is just find the ball. The guy had three interceptions in a. In a scrimmage earlier this spring, and so they've got options there. You mentioned Caleb Harris. Champ Anthony was a team captain and a guy that. That. That was set to start for them last year. He suffered a leg injury during the season, and so he can come back as well. They get Jack Luttrell, who was a starter from Arizona. He's in there. Sylvester Smith. Reed was a starter at nickel last year. He's back. And so they have a bunch of names. Star power, maybe not maybe. Maybe we'll be talking about Eric Winters or Anquan Fagans, but corner is the position where it's like, we'll see. They've got to have guys step up. They did retain Rayshawn Pleasant. We had a kick return touchdown last season and was their number three corner behind the guys I just mentioned. Blake would be. Is a former top 100 recruit. Really, really good athletic player. And then Andre Jordan Jr. Is a UCLA transfer. He was the one that. It was like, okay, you need somebody who's done it on a Power 4 level right now, I probably say Pleasant and Andre Jordan are your starters at corner. Are they good enough to hang in the sec? I think, again, this is sort of. I kind of put the D line in the corners together of, like, they can be just okay if the positions behind them are a little better, like linebacker. Talking about the D line, if your safeties are pretty solid, your corners don't have to be absolutely tremendous. And so I think they've got potential like Blake would be. Could be a really, really good player. I mean, ESPN, we're not ESPN, but ESPN had him as like a top 20 player. You know, he was a top 100 overall recruit for us. And so they've got the potential on the back end. But to answer your question and to validate your concern, they're like, yeah, it is. It is a Group, particularly a corner that they're looking at and saying, you only got three or four guys you feel good about, and you got to hope that they're going to step up and be ready to go in the sec.
- [28:25]
E
Is there a chance this defense is as good as it was last year?
- [28:29]
D
I think so. Just because, just because of the continuity, Just because of. Look, they took a step forward in year two under Durkin. I thought I don't have the numbers in front of me, but like, just they were a very consistent defense and, you know, just the guy in the middle, Xavier Atkins, like, if he can be an even better player, you know, they have an opportunity to be really, really good again. I mean, he was, he set all sorts of Auburn records for a linebacker. They've had a bunch of really good linebackers come through in their history and he was an all American last season. And around him there's so much talent. Elijah Melendez is the guy right next to him, just an absolute freak of an athlete. Bryce Diaz is yet another guy who comes from the St. Francis pipeline there in Baltimore. And then we've spent this whole show, we haven't even talked about DeMarcus Riddick. That was another guy that they retained. He's somebody that everyone's been kind of waiting for him to pop like a guy who was former Georgia Commit, former top 50 recruit. He had two separate shoulder surgeries early this offseason. He just wasn't the same player last year dealing with shoulder issues. So, like, they feel like they have a four man rotation at linebacker that can be as good as anybody in the country. And so I think they do have the potential to be as good or a little bit better than last year. Also. They hope they're going to be helped by an offense that will, like, they're going to have to play a lot of snaps because Auburn's going to run fast on offense, but they hope they'll be helped out by a group that honestly just doesn't punt as much and doesn't put them on the field and, you know, disadvantageous situations.
- [29:51]
E
All right, let's, let's turn to this schedule. Like, this is an interesting schedule. I, I think for a team that is like trying to win the conference, this is a, this would not be a good schedule because you do have to play most of your better opponents on the road. But for a team that's trying to make it back to a bowl game and, you know, hopefully do so with, you know, minimal stress and just kind of get back on the right footing, I kind of love where some of these games fall in terms of order on the schedule, but also in terms of location. Like, so Baylor neutrals, ostensibly, but I mean, that's in Mercedes Benz. I'd be shocked if that's not at least 70, 30 Tigers fans, if not more Southern Miss. In Jordan Hare, you get Florida at home. It's a, I think a very talented Florida team, but obviously, like, they're, you know, they're coming in into town. You get Vandy at home as well with a. Probably a true freshman quarterback. Then you got to go to Tennessee. Given the corner situation. That. That's, that's. I, I'd much rather play Tennessee on the road if it's a game I'm probably going to lose either way. Right. And then bye week, then at Georgia, you know, like, you're probably, like, that's probably a loss not guaranteed. Obviously stuff happens in that series, but, you know, I guess LSU is the one home game you're like, all right, like, that's probably, it's probably the only time you're actually a home underdog. You know, if, if Sam Levitt is healthy for them and is good. We're recording this in kind of mid, late April just to timestamp this thing at Ole Miss, Arkansas at home at Mississippi State, that's probably the, the only road game you're favored in. And then, you know, home against Sanford, like, just if you can go. If we count Baylor as a, as a home game, I mean, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. If you can go 6 and 1 in those seven home games or 5 and 2, you know, then you find a way to steal a road one and like, you're back to bowling.
- [31:53]
D
Yeah. And if, you know, any Auburn fans listening to this, talking about Baylor basically being a home game is obviously a touchy subject because they gave up, they gave up a home game to go play in Atlanta, get some nil dollars out of it. That's obviously the name of the game. Yeah, I mean, that, that Baylor game, just like we thought it would last season. Now last year, Auburn didn't turn out to be as competitive as maybe we. We thought they would be. But, you know, last year it felt like such a, such a, such a sway game, you know, a kind of a fringe game for them, whether they're gonna go, oh, then, you know, 7 and 5, 8 and 4. Well, obviously it fell way beneath that. Yeah, that Baylor game is really important to get early on. I agree with you that this schedule is not like, this isn't what you want to see in year two under Alex Gollish, you don't want to see something like this. But you know, in year three, but in year one where like you said, you just try to pick off and get as many home games as you can. That Tennessee game is interesting because like there's going to be the revenge factor. Not necessarily revenge factor, but like the motivation factor for a guy like Alex Golish. You know, his former is his mentor Josh Hyple. You know, they're obviously very close and coach there. They got Tim Banks, Tennessee's defensive coordinator that they fired is now their safety coach. And so you know a little bit going on there and they'll be throwing against, against Kay and Lee who, who was on their team last season. Yeah, I agree with you that the LSU game feels like the biggest home game on the schedule. Florida will get a lot of excitement and buzz. That is a wonderful home opener, SEC home opener for them because it's the, it's the summer all Bowl. You know, Auburn was set to get John Summerall. He was number one on their, on their coaching candidate list. I think people at, at Auburn will be paying attention to how the Summerall experiment, you know, plays out with the Gators. I think when you look at their first two SEC home games, getting one of those is, is really important if we're going to assume that they can beat Baylor in Atlanta. If you win, if you beat Florida or Vanderbilt, you're three and one going into the rest of that stretch. Pluck off, you know, three or four more games. I keep landing on seven and five for this team next season, which that's, that's not the long term goal for Alex Goliath and Auburn, but like, holy cow. It's much different than what they've experienced in recent seasons. I mean even six and six and getting to a bowl game is something they haven't done in quite a while.
- [34:01]
E
Totally. If, if you can hold serve at home in the ones that like you should win. Right. And you could somehow split like the LSU and at Ole Miss combo. I, I think they're really cooking with gas at that point that it's gonna be a fascinating team to watch. I, I'm super excited to see what Auburn can do this year. Obviously I think it's a massive improvement. I guess I'll leave with this. I think there's some element here too of kind of like when I was going over my Michigan notes. You have to allow for the possibility that just getting rid of some of the dysfunction internally has some Sort of non quantifiable but certainly positive benefit. And I'm not putting Hugh Freeze's tenure in the Sharon Moore tenure as far as the level of dysfunction, but I certainly wouldn't call it super functional and buttoned up just based on, on the reporting out there. So I, I don't know. Like, do you find yourself saying that this is just more well run?
- [35:01]
D
Oh, absolutely. It just feels, it just feels very different. And look to, to talk about the point you just made, look no further than what they did. I mean I, I feel like I as a reporter will never have an experience again like I did last year when we went to Vanderbilt. And we're just, we're all standing there with our hands on it. We're like what was this guy doing? Because I don't know if you remember that Vanderbilt game. Ashton Daniels is just walking them down and looks incredible and you're like where was this? And they had six days to prepare for that. Now there's something to be said. I will say for like you know, the elements of surprise if you will but like come on man, like it was just such an incompetent product under Hugh Free. So I agree with you. I think there's just something to be said. Doesn't matter who they hired John Summerall or Alex Golish which by the way I kind of put them in the same realm. Like my expectation for them, my, my excitement level for them as a head coach was about the same. Like I think they're basically just the offensive and defensive versions of each other. But I think it didn't matter who you hired. And that's not to say the Hugh Freeze era was a complete disaster roster building. It wasn't. But man, just on the field and particularly at quarterback, they just weren't able to get it done. And so yeah, I mean I think everybody is looking at this in the lens of oh, first year Auburn coach offensive minded, who runs a really fast paced offense, you know, hello 2013 Gus malls on. Well that's, that's obviously the gold standard but it wouldn't surprise me if Auburn jumped up. I'm not saying they're going to the national title game, nothing like that. They jump up and win nine games just because that they, they have a lot of talent on defense and they have a really well run offense. Sure wouldn't surprise me. I'm more in the 6 and 6, 7 and 5 camp because I think it's really difficult to win in the SEC nowadays. But I certainly think Alex Golish is going to be a competent enough on field coach with a good quarterback and a good defense to where I can't see this season being a disaster by by any means. You never know. But I really just can't see it happening.
- [36:57]
E
If they stay healthy, it should be a step in the right direction. We'll just see how big of a step, you know. So man, Nathan, really enjoyed us. Appreciate all the rundown on Auburn. We'll continue to follow your great coverage there on Auburn Undercover man, for sure.
- [37:10]
D
Appreciate you as always. Some Follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money. Whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion dollar swings, there's a money side to every story. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe now@bloomberg.com.