< Previous20 STATS COMPARISONS AUBURNTIGERS.COM AUBURN STATS LEADERS RUSHING ATT NET AVG TD LONG AVG/G Jarquez Hunter 174 1,145 6.6 8 50 104.1 Damari Alston 52 276 5.3 3 36 25.1 Payton Thorne 102 241 2.4 2 31 24.1 PASSING CMP-ATT-INT PCT YDS TD AVG/G Payton Thorne 175-276-8 63.4 2,412 20 241.2 Hank Brown 27-43-3 62.8 403 6 100.8 RECEIVING NO. YDS AVG TD LONG AVG/G KeAndre Lambert-Smith 42 865 20.6 8 67 78.6 Cam Coleman 30 520 17.3 7 63 52.0 Malcolm Simmons 36 417 11.6 3 57 37.9 DEFENSE UA A TOT TFL-YDS SACKS-YDS Dorian Mausi 48 23 71 8.0-22 2.5-13 Jerrin Thompson 42 18 60 2.0-15 1.0-14 Jalen McLeod 35 13 48 12.5-69 7.0-47 ALABAMA STATS LEADERS RUSHING ATT NET AVG TD LONG AVG/G Jalen Milroe 135 615 4.6 17 72 55.9 Jamarion Miller 107 557 5.2 7 56 50.6 Justice Haynes 72 428 5.9 6 85 38.9 PASSING CMP-ATT-INT PCT YDS TD AVG/G Jalen Milroe 171-263-9 65.0 2,396 15 217.8 Ty Simpson 14-25-0 56.0 167 0 27.8 RECEIVING NO. YDS AVG TD LONG AVG/G Ryan Williams 42 804 19.1 8 84 73.1 Germie Bernard 39 603 15.5 2 47 54.8 CJ Dippre 16 192 12.0 0 46 17.5 DEFENSE UA A TOT TFL-YDS SACKS-YDS Jihaad Campbell 51 46 97 10.5-52 5.0-39 Deontae Lawson 36 40 76 6.5-30 2.0-21 Malachi Moore 39 27 66 2.5-6 1.0-3 Here is a quick look at the top team statistics for Tigers and Crimson Tide. . Quick Look n Total Touchdowns 4154 n Rushing Yards 1,8881,991 n Passing Yards 2,8662,625 STATS COMPARISONSTickets available now! featuring Herbie Hancock • Borromeo String Quartet • The Piano Guys The Magic School Bus • Dear Evan Hansen • Straight No Chaser • Black Violin Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations • and many more 2024–25 season22 COVER FEATURE AUBURNTIGERS.COM Much like the transition in the class- room from high school instruction to college-level courses, the transition has been challenging but rewarding for sev- eral Auburn freshmen who have become prominent first-year contributors on the Tiger offense this season. They’ve gotten expert assistance not only from their coaches but also from the older veterans on the team. “The best thing to me has been learn- ing from my older guys like Dre (KeAndre Lambert-Smith) and Robert (Lewis),” Per- ry Thompson says of his mentors in the wide receiver room. Thompson, who has 126 yards receiving and a score this sea- son, adds, “Coming in, I didn’t really know too much about all the details of football, but learning from them and picking up on the things they do has been great training for me.” Offensive lineman Bradyn Joiner, who has made four starts at guard this season, is also appreciative of “my teammates and what they pour into me. I’ve had to get more mature mentally and physically and they have shown me how to do that.” “A bunch of the older guys have taken me under their wing coming here – the jump from high school to college is real! Adjusting to everything like strength, speed, pace and learning the calls – it’s helped me grow and get my technique down,” offensive lineman DeAndre Carter says. “I’m still growing and I’m adjusting to school, too. I’m learning a lot.” “I had been told by a bunch of my kick- ing mentors that you may think you’re ready physically and technique-wise, but maturity and mindset are where you have to grow,” says placekicker Towns Mc- Gough, who has been a perfect 27-27 on point-after attempts and added 42 points to the Tiger scoring ledger this season. COVER FEATURE BY: SHELLY POE FUTURE FORWARD: OFFENSECommitted to playing with purpose. At Alabama Power, we share your passion for gameday and your pride in our community. We celebrate victories on and off the field that move the state forward. For over 100 years, we’ve shown that our collective achievements make us stronger. It’s Power for a Better Alabama. We proudly support the Auburn Tigers. alabamapower.com © 2024 Alabama Power Company24 COVER FEATURE AUBURNTIGERS.COM “It’s not easy, but you made the choice to play college football, so you learn that it’s your responsibility to put in the work to train and perform no matter what,” wide receiver Cam Coleman, who has 30 catches for 520 yards and seven touch- downs, says. “Having to grow up and focus on what you have to do has been the biggest ad- justment for me,” offensive lineman Ty- ler Johnson, with one start this season, explains. “But it’s also been the best part – the grind – pushing toward a goal and getting there.” Those freshman efforts have also come with memorable rewards and experiences so early in their college careers. “What I’ve loved is bonding with my teammates and getting to know things about football at this level,” wide receiver Malcolm Simmons, who shows 36 recep- tions for 417 yards and three touchdowns, as well as contributions on special teams, during his first season of college football. “I’ve learned to take coaching and listen to the advice of my older brothers on the team. I’m a freshman, so going out and having people challenge me so I can be great the next year has been great.” But the best part of being an Auburn Tiger is that up-close connection with the Auburn Family. “Playing the home games with all the atmo- sphere and our fans has been amazing,” Coleman adds. “I thought I knew, but it’s even been beyond what I thought.” “That crazy experi- ence with our fans – I’ve never experienced any- thing like it!” says Carter, who came to the Plains from California. “That plus making such a connec- tion with my brothers on the field has been amaz- ing.” “The best thing espe- cially here is that I grew up here as a fan in the stands, and now I’m so blessed to get to play,” adds Mc- Gough, an Auburn prod- uct. “The absolute best part of college is the fans, and I love our fans!” wide receiver Bryce Cain, who has a pair of receptions while redshirting this season, says. “War Eagle!” COVER FEATUREPARTOFTHEFAMILY Y O U R T E A M S . Y O U R T E A M S .Y O U R S T A T I O N S . Y O U R S T A T I O N S . WINGSFM.COM CATCHAUBURNFOOTBALL,MEN’SBASKETBALLANDTIGERTALKONWINGS94.3 ANDAUBURNWOMEN’SBASKETBALLANDBASEBALLONAU100. Auburn-Opelika’sOfficialFlagshipStationsoftheAuburnTigers AU100FM.COM28 HEAD COACH HUGH FREEZE AUBURNTIGERS.COM Hugh Freeze became the 31st head football coach in Auburn history in No- vember, 2022. Freeze has nearly three decades of continued coaching success, including head coaching experience that has led to conference titles, nation- ally ranked recruiting classes and bowl appearances at multiple stops during his highly decorated career. In Freeze’s first season at Auburn, despite a shorthanded roster, the 2023 Tigers posted a 6-7 record and earned a Music City Bowl berth. Every home game was sold out as fans embraced Freeze’s brand of football and Auburn garnered a top 10 recruiting class for the 2024 campaign. Freeze came to Auburn from Liber- ty University, where he was head coach from 2019-22. Freeze led the Flames to four bowl games and a 34-15 record. Freeze experienced similar success at each of his head coaching stops prior to Liberty that include Lambuth Univer- sity (2008-09), Arkansas State (2011) and Ole Miss (2012-16). Freeze led each school to double-digit win seasons, while helping Ole Miss to a top 10 national fin- ish in 2015. His on-field coaching record in 13 seasons is 109-54. Liberty was just one of five FBS teams in the country to win a bowl game each season from 2019-21, joining Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana. It was the second team in NCAA history to win a bowl game during its first three full sea- sons at the FBS level, all coming under Freeze’s leadership. Freeze guided Liberty to a 10-1 overall record in 2020 and the team’s first-ever national ranking as it finished No. 17 in the country. That season, Liberty had the best start in program history (8-0), tied the program record for wins (10) and de- feated two Power 5 programs in Syracuse and Virginia Tech. For his efforts, Freeze was a finalist for the George Munger Col- legiate Coach of the Year Award. Known for his fast-paced offensive style, Freeze’s 2020 Liberty team set a school record for rushing yards in a sea- son in 2020 (2,776) and ranked No. 9 in the country in rushing offense. Liberty also ranked No. 15 nationally in total of- fense (482.7 yards per game) and No. 11 in total defense (317.7 yards per game). The Flames were one of three teams in the country to rank in the top 20 in both total offense and total defense in 2020, joining Clemson and BYU. Spearheading Liberty’s outstand- ing offense in 2020 was former Auburn quarterback Malik Willis, who burst into the spotlight leading the nation in rushing yards (944) and touchdowns (14) by a FBS quarterback. Willis earned All-America honors, was named to the Davey O’Brien Award Quarterback Class of 2020 and was on the 2020 Maxwell Award watch list. The Flames posted an eight-win sea- son in 2021 after facing eight bowl-eli- gible teams during that campaign. Lib- erty’s defense finished the 2021 season ranked No. 7 nationally in passing yards allowed, No. 11 in total defense and No. 24 in scoring defense. Offensively, Lib- erty finished 2021 ranked No. 25 in the country in scoring offense and No. 8 in passing yards per completion. Leading the charge for the Flames in 2021 once again was Willis, who was a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Na- tional Quarterback Award and the Max- well Award and a top 10 candidate for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Willis was a third-round draft pick of the Ten- nessee Titans in the 2022 NFL Draft. In 2022, Liberty finished the regu- lar season 8-4 with wins over Arkansas and BYU; three of the four losses came by a combined five points. The Flames earned a berth in the Boca Raton Bowl. While head coach at Ole Miss, Freeze took the Rebels to bowl games in three of his five seasons, including wins in the 2013 Music City and the 2016 Sugar bowls. Freeze’s time in Oxford was highlight- ed by a 10-3 campaign in 2015, the pro- gram’s first 10-win season since 2003. The Rebels won their first four games of the 2015 season, including a 43-37 road victory over No. 2 Alabama, Ole Miss’ first win in Tuscaloosa since 1988. The Rebels were ranked as high as No. 3 in the national polls in both 2014 and 2015 and finished in the national Top 10 for the first time since 1969 after the Sugar Bowl win. Ole Miss was ranked in the top 25 for 45 weeks over Freeze’s five-year tenure, including a string of 27 straight weeks in the polls for the first time since 1957-62. Freeze collected four nationally ranked recruiting classes at Ole Miss. In 2013 and 2016, his recruiting classes ranked in the top five nationally, the best in program history. Freeze and his staff developed 20 players who earned all-SEC honors, in- cluding All-Americans Cody Prewitt, Senquez Golson, Robert Nkemdiche, Laremy Tunsil, Evan Engram, Laquon Treadwell and Trae Elston. Treadwell was Ole Miss’ first ever SEC Freshman of the Year in 2013 and became HUGH FREEZE HEAD COACHNext >