One Auburn football player named in Saturday Down South's top 25 SEC players list
Jarquez Hunter was the only Auburn football player named in Saturday Down South's Connor O'Gara's top 25 SEC players list; a list that featured three members of the Alabama Crimson Tide and six Georgia Bulldogs.
O'Gara lauded Hunter's 2023 season and pointed out how he is one of the most productive returning RBs to the "It Just Means More" conference.
"No returning player in the SEC had more rushing yards than Hunter, and of those 909 rushing yards, 93% of them came against Power 5 competition," O'Gara wrote of Hunter.
In many ways, the faith in Hunter is an indictment of quarterback Payton Thorne. Given how unimpressive Thorne looked throwing the ball much of the 2023 season, Hunter is the Tiger most remembered positively from last year. Hunter is the only sure thing in Auburn's backfield until Thorne could prove otherwise.
Luckily, the 2024 season could see increased comfortability from Thorne. He'll have spectacular YAC threats in the WR room with Cam Coleman, Bryce Cain, and KeAndre Lambert-Smith, so simple routes could yield much better results than he was used to in 2023. Not to mention, he can set up the run, calling his own number, because of the increased attention the receivers will need from opposing defenses.
Auburn football unproven in the eyes of many under Hugh Freeze
Auburn hasn't been a highly-ranked team since the middle of the 2021 season. Most with a national prospective associate the team with the highly tumultuous latter half of Bryan Harsin's tenure and the underwhelming first year of Hugh Freeze's tenure.
While Freeze's recruiting is turning heads this summer on the recruiting trail, it'll be forgotten if the results on the field don't follow. Or worse, much of it will be undone.
Positive thoughts, though.
The 2025 top SEC players list will have more Tigers on it, though, barring a dramatic downturn in momentum. The talent level is too high for Auburn to be represented just once on a list like this.