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Peterson: Behind a remade receiving corps, Auburn has renewed confidence on offense
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DALLAS — Hugh Freeze feels a sense of comfort in his building that just wasn’t there a year ago. Call it peace of mind, call it stability, call it whatever, the Auburn head coach exudes confidence. “When I walk into the offensive room now, every single person in there has worked with me before,” he said Thursday as SEC Media Days wrapped up in the Lone Star State.
Freeze led Auburn to a 6-7 record last fall. Three of those losses were by a touchdown or less. The Tiger offense sagging to 68th in SP+ played a large role in that. The pass game offered little more than a whimper amid the roars inside Jordan-Hare Stadium. Quarterback Payton Thorne had the worst year of his starting career, taking more sacks than ever, throwing interceptions at a higher rate than ever, and posting the worst per-play passing average he’s had over the course of a season.
But Freeze believes the confidence from the staff is filtering on down through into the locker room. Thorne agreed. He said “alignment” has been a trendy word around the building and throughout the offseason to describe the program — a change in tone from a season ago. The arrival of offensive coordinator Derrick Nix from Ole Miss — someone with whom Freeze shares history — has done wonders for the Auburn offense.
An overhaul of the skill talent doesn’t hurt, either. Auburn signed a top-10 class, buoyed by 5-star receiver Cam Coleman and top-50 receiver Perry Thompson. KeAndre Lambert-Smith transferred from Penn State to give Thorne another legit blue-chipper to throw to.
And Freeze has seen a quarterback reborn.
“I think he feels like if he’s supposed to take a 3-step drop from the shotgun and throw a curl route, I think he feels confident that he has guys that can win,” Freeze said. “And when you are not confident that they can win at the top end, you become really, really hesitant and your throw is late or it doesn’t go off at all and now the pressure comes.”
Thorne says he has stayed the same throughout the offseason. He’s continued to work, trying to lead through his practice habits. Asked what he’s done to build chemistry with his new group of receivers, he plainly said, “Throw.” And then they’ll spend time together outside the context of football after.
Cal transfer Sam Jackson is Thorne’s roommate and someone he says will be one of his best friends forever. Coleman, Thorne says, is an outstanding bowler. He’s putting in the work to get to know his receivers. They’re putting in the work to build a rapport with their quarterback.
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I asked Thorne what this year’s crop of receivers had done to impress him, and he fell back on a word he’d used multiple times already during our more-than-20-minute chat — details.
“Like, get to 12 yards. It’s not at 9. It’s at 12. Get to 12 yards,” Thorne said. “There is a lot more confidence right now. I trust the guys we have out there and they’re making plays on the ball.”
And that’s the other element. Auburn’s leading wide receiver last year caught 31 balls at just 10.5 yards a catch. The Tigers’ wideouts made 13 combined contested catches, per Pro Football Focus. Mississippi State was the only SEC team whose receiving corps produced fewer. A single Vanderbilt receiver had more than Auburn’s collective group.
Thorne said Lambert-Smith has outpaced his expectations and that he’s a “really polished” receiver, someone Thorne is confident can beat any press-man because of his release. Keldric Faulk, an Auburn defender who played immediately as a freshman last year, said Coleman arrived a good player in the spring but, “You could tell from the first practice to the end of spring how developed his game was.” Freeze said Thompson has the physical traits to come in and challenge for snaps right away.
With Nix in town, Thorne says the overall offensive operation is more detailed. He says there’s urgency and a commitment to winning habits.
“Ultimately, it comes down to actually doing it. You have to do it in practice before you get trust in the game,” Thorne said. “We’ve got guys right now that are doing it in practice and going and making plays. You go, ‘OK, that’s a big-time play right there.’ Or, ‘Hey, you caught that ball. That wasn’t a very good throw — that was at your knees — but you caught it.’ … I definitely have more confidence right now in our guys and what we’re doing, and that also comes down to the coaching as well.”
There is an almost uncontrollable excitement about what Coleman can be right away for Auburn. In the industry-generated 247 Composite, he was the third-ranked prospect in the country. And a brilliant spring poured lighter fluid on the excitement.
But there’s a learning curve.
“Mentally a lot is required,” said Faulk. (A true sophomore representing a program at an event like SEC Media Days is unheard of, but Faulk isn’t a typical second-year player. The 6-6 defender played in all 13 games last year and made 35 tackles. If there’s anyone who can help Coleman adjust, it’s Faulk.) “You’re going out there every Saturday playing against some of the best players in college ball. A lot of people say the SEC is like the mini-NFL. You have so many NFL Draft picks and NFL prospects you’re playing against every week, have you to play with your A-game. You have to practice like it’s your last. Mentally it takes a lot out of you, and physically probably even more.”
Added Thorne: “So many times you’re just so much more athletic than guys and faster than guys in high school that you just either run right past them or whip them by you when you’re stopping. At this level, you’re not going to do that as much.”
Coaches can tell when a player has the ability to play immediately. Freeze has been through this before, too. Laquon Treadwell caught 72 balls as a freshman for Freeze at Ole Miss before going on to rewrite the record books for a receiver in the program.
Before Coleman signed (and became the highest-rated recruit to ever sign with Auburn in the internet rankings era), Treadwell was the highest-rated receiver Freeze had ever signed. AJ Brown was up there as well.
Treadwell posted 608 yards and 5 touchdowns as a freshman. Brown had 412 as a true freshman in 2016. Across the 11 seasons Freeze has been a head coach, 6 players have produced at least 100 receiving yards in their first year. Only 3 have topped 200 yards.
“I’m just very careful not to put unreal expectations on him just yet,” Freeze said Thursday.
Coleman has done what has been asked of him.
“I’ve had some really, really great receivers. I think of Laquon Treadwell. He came in and just fit naturally. Caught (72) balls as a freshman. Obviously still in the NFL. And we’ve signed some others that are in the NFL now but we redshirted (that first year) or they weren’t quite ready. So, it’s very hard for me to predict exactly how these young kids will perform,” Freeze said. “It’s really hard to judge how they’ll handle everything but it starts with a work ethic and a maturity about your approach. Don’t think you have it all figured out. Be coachable. And Cam was absolutely that in spring. He wants to be coached.”
Auburn expects its run game to be punishing — a fair expectation when the program brings back the leading returning rusher in the SEC. A strong run game will help facilitate more downfield passes. When Thorne was at his best at Michigan State, he was bombing away to receivers downfield who had his unflinching trust. That season, Thorne had a 92.1 passing grade (per PFF) with 14 touchdowns on passes that traveled at least 20 yards downfield.
Thorne had only 13 completions on 20-yard passes all last year.
You piece together the offseason moves Auburn has made and, on paper, it makes sense why everyone involved is optimistic about growth in 2024.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
