Auburn football adding HBCU offensive coordinator to staff: Report

Per former Fly War Eagle staff writer and FCS Football Central's Zach McKinnell, Hugh Freeze's Auburn football staff will be adding Jackson State offensive coordinator Maurice Harris; likely as an offensive analyst.

"Jackson State offensive coordinator Maurice Harris is expected to join Hugh Freeze’s staff at Auburn ," McKinnell prefaced before saying, "Harris has worked with Freeze at Liberty, Ole Miss, & Arkansas State. JSU ranked No. 1 in the SWAC in Total Offense under Harris."

A Memphis, Tennessee native with experience under Freeze previously, Harris joins the staff at a time when the offense -- which had a large hand in delivering the first post-Gus Malzahn top-10 recruiting finish -- is full of potential. His one season at Liberty was enough to convince Freeze to bring in another familiar face, particularly given the lack of success from the offensive coaching staff last season.

Hugh Freeze still has mix of Auburn football alums and outside hires

Three highly-revered Auburn men left the program after the 2023 season. Trovon Reed took an on-field role under Malzahn at UCF, Zac Etheridge joined Willie Fritz's Houston staff, and Cadillac Williams also left the program, though his next coaching destination is TBD.

That doesn't mean that Auburn football doesn't still feature men who've earned their stripes on the field. Quite the contrary.

Charles Kelly, an AU alum, joins his home-state program with a reputation for being a closer on the recruiting trail; one who coaches and parents trust with their sons' development as players and as men. Marcus Davis didn't go anywhere.

Freeze brought in great outside talent too, though, not getting caught up on bringing on a certain archetype. AKA, a former Auburn player.

Derrick Nix and DJ Durkin are certainly drastically different personalities. But both coordinators will bring a hard-nosed style to the field. Ditto for Vontrell King-Williams.