AUBURN — Looking good at A-Day doesn’t automatically mean an Auburn football player is going to become a star when the lights come on and the games matter for real in the fall.
But it can’t hurt to build up some momentum.
The Tigers wrapped up spring practice with an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday. The offense struggled at first in the 28-27 victory over the defense, settling for five consecutive field goals before finally reaching the end zone on a 39-yard toss in the fourth quarter from quarterback Payton Thorne to five-star receiver Cam Coleman.
Kicker Towns McGough sank a 58-yarder at the final whistle to put the offense in front for good.
Here are five offensive and defensive players − McGough is omitted − who looked the best at A-Day and are heading into the summer on a nigh note:
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Beginning with the obvious, there wasn’t anyone who was more exciting than Coleman. The early enrollee was targeted five times, catching four of those passes for 92 yards and a score. The attempt he couldn’t haul in may have been his best effort, as he reached around the back of cornerback Colton Hood and nearly corralled the ball.
“He made a couple MAs (missed assignments) in the tight red zone today on balls that we were hoping to throw him down there,” coach Hugh Freeze said of Coleman. “Kind of got us in trouble and made us kick some field goals. That’s on us. We’ve got to clean it up and make sure he knows the whole system and what he can do. But when he knows what to do, he’s really, really talented.”
Texas transfer Jerrin Thompson has been running with the first-team defense all spring, and he brought home defensive MVP honors at A-Day. He finished with a three tackles, including a sack that saved what likely would’ve been a touchdown.
“I love playing in this defense,” Thompson said. “… It’s very DB friendly. Just being aggressive, letting our D-line go to work.”
Nothing was going to cause more of a positive stir than Coleman’s 39-yard TD and 49-yard bomb earlier in the game, but a 40-yard pass from Thorne to Georgia State transfer Robert Lewis is a respectable third. Lewis, a 5-foot-10 receiver who has inside and outside versatility, finished with 73 receiving yards on a game-high five catches.
“I think it’s getting there,” Thorne said of the passing offense as a whole. “I think we made strides here in the spring and I think things are moving in the direction that we want them. I know they are. Throughout the summer, it’s just going to get better and better. Running routes on air, meeting, working 7-on-7, that’ll be player-led stuff.”
Auburn needs players to step up along the defensive front, and that’s exactly what Bobby Jamison-Travis did. A junior who spent the 2022 season at Iowa Western before joining the Tigers ahead of the 2023 season, Jamison-Travis logged three tackles for loss, including a couple of sacks.
“The biggest step I have taken is learning the plays,” Jamison-Travis said. “Last season I was on and off on the plays and didn’t really know them. This season, the playbook is much easier. I’m learning. I’m coming.”
Thorne began spring as the favorite to be the starter and he exits the same way. He completed nine of his 13 passes at A-Day for 133 yards and a touchdown. Some fans may not want to see him again after last season’s lackluster results, but he’s been the most consistent QB on the roster.
“I’ll have to watch the film to know 100%, but I felt pretty good with my decision making,” Thorne said. “I’d like to have maybe one throw back. It wasn’t even a really bad throw, it just could have been better. Maybe a couple. But other than that, I thought the decision making was good today.”
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.
