It’s finally here! The Auburn football team will take the field in Jordan-Hare Stadium this week to face off against the UMass Minutemen, and fans are on the edges of their seats to see how the first team under head coach Hugh Freeze plays in game one.
Today, the media received copies of the Tigers’ week one depth chart with Payton Thorne headlining as QB1. The list featured no big surprises, with Jarquez Hunter leading the running backs room, Rivaldo Fairweather in prime position for the tight ends, and a promising group of wide receiver options.
Freeze stated in his press conference this morning that several players are “banged up” and dealing with injuries, including JD Rhym, Robby Ashford, Nick Mardner, Jalen McLeod, and Nehemiah Pritchett. It’s possible they all play this Saturday, but there may be a few sitting out the opening game.
It’s interesting to note that Freeze conducted spring practice without a depth chart, and then really only named a few key players as official starters during fall camp, like Payton Thorne. Justin Hokanson indicates that depth charts are not something Freeze is a fan of, and not everything is set in stone ahead of game one:
well, Hugh Freeze just said, "I don't even have a depth chart. I don't do depth charts." Freeze said the depth chart the media received is a product of media relations or whatever, adding he hasn't named anyone specifically "first team," etc. So, yea. https://t.co/JQyOSZI709
— Justin Hokanson (@_JHokanson) August 28, 2023
Throughout the offseason, many of the coaches have expressed their desire to have a lot of different guys ready to go in their positions, like the offensive line and wide receiver groups, so naming official “starters” is less useful here. It’s also likely that in-game performance will be key in determining those roles in a more concrete way as Auburn football’s season rolls along.