It’s a busy weekend on The Plains as Auburn hosts its A-Day Weekend, which is packed with events spanning from baseball and softball games to four Auburn greats being added the Tiger Trail of Auburn.
Of course, the main event comes Saturday afternoon as the Auburn football team takes the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium for the second A-Day spring game of the Hugh Freeze era.
Saturday’s football showcase, which is set to get underway at 1 p.m., will feature four 10-minute periods, which will come after the Tigers’ defense is spotted a 27-point lead. From there, it’ll be up to Auburn’s offense to catch up.
Here are three storylines to watch during Saturday’s spring game:
Freeze long maintained the need for more talent in Auburn’s wide receiver room last season.
Now, after he, wide receivers coach Marcus Davis and the rest of the Tigers’ staff secured a historically talented wide receiver class and a pair of transfers, Freeze got his wish.
And on Saturday afternoon, Auburn fans will get their first opportunity to see some of those new pass catchers in action — especially after Freeze revealed earlier in the week that a handful of the Tigers’ returning receivers are banged up and could miss A-Day.
Cam Coleman, the gem of Auburn’s 2024 recruiting class, will undoubtedly be the one everyone’s got their eyes on as he takes Pat Dye Field for the first time as a player in Saturday’s A-Day spring game.
It’ll be a full-circle moment for Coleman, who says his first visit to Jordan-Hare Stadium was for Auburn’s spring game back in 2017.
Fellow freshman wide receiver and former 4-star prospect Bryce Cain will also make his unofficial debut Saturday after having enrolled early and gone through spring camp with the Tigers.
Auburn’s other pair of freshman receivers in Perry Thompson and Malcolm Simmons did not enroll early and will not be participating in the spring game.
Meanwhile, joining Auburn’s wide receiver corps from the transfer portal and also taking Pat Dye Field for the first time on Saturday are Georgia State transfer Robert Lewis and former Cal quarterback-turned-wide receiver Sam Jackson V.
Freeze says he hopes it’s not “fool’s gold,” but he’s been pleased with the progress Auburn’s defensive backfield has made since losing a ton of production as four of last year’s starting defensive backs in DJ James, Nehemiah Pritchett, Zion Puckett and Jaylin Simpson have all declared for the NFL Draft.
“I think that’s probably where I’d say we’ve made the most noticeable improvement,” Freeze said of Auburn’s secondary.
Veteran defensive back Keionte Scott will be the most familiar defensive back to take the field and could line up at either cornerback, nickelback or both after cross training at both positions all spring.
Behind Scott is a mixed bag of young guys and transfers.
Auburn junior Champ Anthony, sophomore Kayin Lee and redshirt freshman Colton Hood are three returning defensive backs who are set to ascend into larger roles after the handful of departures and strong showings throughout spring camp.
Meanwhile, Texas transfer Jerrin Thompson and Alabama transfer Antonio Kite are two others Auburn fans should be excited about after both transfer additions were the subject of buzz all spring. Thompson is looking to solidify his role as starting safety, while Kite could be emerge as a starting cornerback for the Tigers.
It’ll be tough to take anything seen in Saturday’s spring game as the gospel.
“It’s typically a day you try to get out of healthy and don’t show too much on either side and play a lot of these young kids,” said Freeze, who also added that he’d be limiting snaps for some of Auburn’s key players.
That said, Saturday will still serve as a chance for fans to get a look at Auburn’s offense, which is now under the leadership of first-year offensive coordinator Derrick Nix.
“A lot different,” said quarterback Payton Thorne when asked to describe Auburn’s offense.
Thorne, who Freeze says in the “pole position” in Auburn’s quarterback race, went on to mention an increase in energy and attention to detail, while also affirming an RPO scheme is what the Tigers will be “hanging their hat on” offensively.
Though Thorne, who is Auburn’s incumbent starter, is said to in “pole position” in the quarterback battle, it’s likely all four quarterbacks get looks Saturday — including true freshman Walker White.
Now, how much of an opportunity will those guys have to air it out? Freeze says there’s no telling when running the kind of RPO offense he and the Tigers plan to.
However, Freeze admits fans might see a more rush-heavy approach on Saturday.
“I don’t mind throwing it, but we are really thin at receiver right now,” Freeze said, referencing injuries to a handful of Auburn’s pass catchers. “We’ll see how we are come Saturday.”
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