Auburn may be a year away from being a year away, but there is a distinct possibility that this team has a low-key pop year under head coach Hugh Freeze. He has his faults as a person, but the man is a fantastic college football coach. We have seen him do great things previously at places like Ole Miss, Arkansas State and most recently Liberty. Last year was challenging, but Auburn still went bowling.
Despite being connected to pretty much everyone under the sun during the transfer portal, Auburn has been relatively quiet in that regard, all things considered. This must mean he has full faith and trust in his quarterback Payton Thorne, who did show signs of life last year in his first season down on The Plains. Given that quarterback play is paramount in Freeze's offense, he is the team's litmus test.
So what I am going to do today is take a look at five Auburn players who I think are poised for breakout seasons in a big way. While Thorne's breakout is both obvious and expected for this team to amount to anything, I am not going to include him in this. Plus, he is a redshirt senior transfer. He has been in the college football world for a minute. So this post is not about him; it is about these guys.
Let's start with a blue-chip recruit who is poised to make some noise in the defensive front-seven.
5. Auburn Tigers OLB Jamonta Waller
True freshman Jamonta Waller is the first of two defensive players I have making this list. He may be backing up senior transfer Jalen McLeod on the outside linebacker position known as BUCK, but when Auburn is at its best defensively, the Tigers are shutting down the running game and making things far more difficult in the short-to-medium passing game. The buck stops here at ... BUCK!
The reason why I have Waller coming in at No. 5 as opposed to another one of his freshman classmates is who is ahead of him on the depth chart. McLeod is a proven commodity and may not vacate playing time as much as this other guy I am going to touch on here in a few seconds along the defensive line. Regardless, I suspect Waller will be making more plays than riding pine this season.
The sooner Auburn can get more competitively in the front-seven, the fast the turnaround could be.
4. Auburn Tigers DE Amaris Williams
Just edging out Jamonta Waller for the No. 4 spot is his freshman classmate Amaris Williams. He too was a highly sought-after recruit by Hugh Freeze in the 2024 class. What I like about him a tad more as my pick to click on defense is that he might have slightly more playing time than Waller. See, Williams will be backing up sophomore Keldric Faulk at defensive end. Those players always rotate.
So while I suspect Waller will get playing time this season, I expect Williams will have even more because of who he is behind on the depth chart, as well as the rotational nature of the position he plays. While stopping the run is paramount to Auburn's defensive success, they need to wreak havoc with the pass rush as well. I think Auburn approaches 8-4 or even 9-3 if they can do those two things.
For as much as I am bullish on these two freshmen, it will be all about the offense for Auburn this year.
3. Auburn Tigers QB Hank Brown
For as much as Payton Thorne will be the straw that stirs the drink offensively for Auburn, keep an eye on this backup for him at quarterback. Although Holden Geriner has been on the roster for a while, the player I want to discuss at this time is Hank Brown. The redshirt freshman looked the part during Auburn's bowl game vs. Maryland. Don't say those games don't matter for dozens of underclassmen.
While I suspect that Thorne will start all 13 games for the bowl-bound Tigers, how Brown, and Geriner to some extent, look will help tell the tale for how good this Auburn team can be this year. I don't think they are a playoff-caliber team just yet, but a few good plays during a top-25 season as a backup could do wonders for how we perceive Brown entering 2025, possibly his first year as their starter.
With what Auburn aspires to be, having a succession plan at quarterback should be incredibly crucial.
2. Auburn Tigers RB Jeremiah Cobb
The first of two budding offensive stars I am so excited to talk about in this post would have to be running back Jeremiah Cobb. Although he is backing up Jarquez Hunter, Cobb has already started to turn some heads. He was a player the local media could not stop raving about during spring practice. Since the day and age of a bell-cow back is firmly behind us, look for Cobb to get even more touches.
With Payton Thorne proving to be a sneaky-good, or at least a deceptive runner, having a healthy stable of running backs behind him only adds to the intrigue of this Auburn offense. Having a quarterback who can move in and around the pocket has been a critical part of Hugh Freeze's offenses for years. Having a running game to complement that only gets Auburn back over the top.
Look for Cobb to be one of the best returning running backs in the SEC this time next year in 2025.
1. Auburn Tigers WR Cam Coleman
And we have finally arrived at what could be Auburn's most exciting player to watch entering this season. With everybody else on the team, we are hoping that they will play well. When it comes to wide receiver Cam Coleman, we know that he is going to be good. The true freshman is already at the top of the depth chart at the X position at wide receiver. He feels like a total game-changer already.
It has been a minute since Auburn has had a player of Coleman's ilk this new into his college career. Probably the last guy I felt this strongly about was defensive lineman Derrick Brown. Even though Auburn was down as a program when he played there, he was a game-wrecker. I expect for Coleman to be one of the best players in Auburn history, or at least one of the most fun to cover professionally.
If Payton Thorne can get on the same page quickly with Coleman, Auburn can steal a game or two.