The Auburn football program is on an upward trajectory under Hugh Freeze. It’s not because of his six wins in Year 1, it’s because of his two five-stars and No. 7 overall recruiting class.
We know that Freeze can recruit with the best of them, and all of a sudden, Auburn is competing with Alabama and the rest of the SEC West for the best players in the country. Freeze was able to lock up his stellar class yesterday with 20 players signing their National Letter of Intent.
The headliners are the wide receivers, but Auburn also added to positions of need on defense with highly rated players. This recruiting class could turn around the program and ensure a better bowl game than the Music City Bowl that the Tigers are gearing up to play in right now.
These are the three players from Freeze’s second recruiting class at Auburn who are primed to make the biggest impact on the field in 2024 as true freshmen.
If you make me pick between Thompson and Cam Coleman for who is going to make a bigger impact as a freshman, I’m taking Thompson who is the No. 26 player in the country over Coleman who is ranked No. 8.
Coleman is the better vertical receiver and last season Payton Thorne was most efficient on those deep and intermediate throws, but that’s why I love the fit of Thompson. He’s a running back once he gets the ball in his hands.
Thompson is 6-foot-3 200 pounds and plays physical after the catch. Last season, Thorne only averaged 5.7 yards per attempt on throws within 0-9 yards of the line of scrimmage despite completing 70% of those throws. He also only averaged 4.2 yards per attempt on throws behind the line of scrimmage with a 92.5 completion rate.
In 2023 Ja’Varrius Johnson led the team in yards after the catch with just 159. That ranked him 360th in the nation and 41st in the SEC. Clearly the Tigers lacked big-time playermakers on offense. Now that Johnson is in the transfer portal, Auburn needs someone to fill that role, and hopefully exceed his production.
Thompson will easily clear 250 yards after the catch next season and will raise Thorne’s efficiency on short throws. If Thorne still hits deep shots to Coleman and other Auburn receivers, and suddenly has a weapon like Thompson, who is a threat to take every screen and slant to the end zone, this offense could explode.
Coleman will be great downfield, but Thompson will be the engine of the Auburn offense next year, and will develop into a similar role to what Deebo Samuel plays for the San Francisco 49ers.
Auburn needed more pass rushers last year. It was a huge issue for the Tigers on defense. They only ranked 47th in sacks per game, but that’s even a bit misleading becuase the pass rush was not quite that effective.
Jalen McLeod was the leading rusher with 35 pressures off the edge at 6-foot-1 237 pounds, and Waller fits that mold perfectly. Auburn plays with a “Jack” linebacker which is just an edge rusher that is capable of dropping into protection.
Waller is perfect for that role, though his measureables don’t pop at just 6-foot-2 225-pounds. He’s very stout and strong with tons of speed and twitchiness at the line of scrimmage.
As a pass rusher, he can win with power on a straight bull rush, with speed, or with his great hands. He has a variety of options to get to the quarterback and plenty of counters, which is rare for a high schooler. He’ll be the perfect fit opposite McLeod or spelling him at times next season.
On tape, he didn’t show much in pass-coverage, but that’s not nearly as important. He’ll be able to get to the quarterback in the SEC as a freshman and that’s rare, especially for someone as light as he is.
- Walker White, QB, 4-star, Little Rock, AR
Payton Thorne was good last season. He averaged 7.0 yards per attempt while completing 62.6% of his passes and didn’t get much help from a mediocre receiver corps. Thorne was good as a runner too with 520 rushing yards and three touchdowns, but it was far from a perfect season.
Thorne is a good downfield thrower, but for Auburn’s offense to take the next step, he’ll need to be much more accurate on short throws. Having improved talent at receiver will certainly help, but Thorne has attempted 1,105 passes in his college career and hasn’t developed into a player that moves the needle for his team.
Hugh Freeze could be ready to move into the next era and that era will clearly be built around the 6-foot-3 four-star dual threat QB from Arkansas and his two five-star freshman receivers.
Playing a freshman quarterback is always a gamble, but White has a big enough arm to get the best out of Coleman as a downfield target and can develop his touch and accuracy on underneath throws this year. He has similar strengths and weaknesses to Thorne, so why not go with the untapped potential of White?