Healthier People are Happier People Staying active keeps us healthier and socializing makes us happier. That’s why Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama is proud to sponsor athletics across the state. Learn more about getting healthier and happier at AlabamaBlue.com/Happy.Make escape part of your winning game plan. Escape every day at Wind Creek Casino and on the Casinoverse app. Aruba • Atmore • Bethlehem Chicago Southland • Curaçao Montgomery • Wetumpka (866) 946-3360 | WindCreek.com ©2023 Wind Creek Hospitality.4 TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 .................................................................... 2023 Schedule 6 .................................................................Scouting Auburn 8 .......................................................................Scouting Cal 10 ....................................................................Auburn Roster 12 ..........................................................................Cal Roster 14 ...................................................... Opponent Outlook: Cal 16 .............................................................. Auburn Traditions 18 ..................................................................... Depth Charts 20 .............................................................. Stat Comparisons 22-24 . California Dreamin’: Auburn prepares for cross-country trip 28-30 ........................................... Head Coach Hugh Freeze 32-36 ........................................................ Assistant Coaches 38 .................................... University News: Facilities Updates 40 ............................................................. Auburn University 42 ..................................................Auburn Board of Trustees 44 ..........................................................University President 46 ..........................................................Director of Athletics 48 .................................................. Through the Lens: UMass 50 ................................ University News: +Add Milk! Initiative 52 .............................. Meet the Coaches: Philip Montgomery 54 .......................................... Jordan-Hare Stadium Diagram 56-57 .............................. Jordan-Hare Stadium Parking Map 60 .................................................. Heisman Trophy Winners 62 ................................................................... All-Americans 64 ............................. Auburn Being Auburn: Heisman Trophy 66 ..............................................Postseason Trophy Winners 68-69 .........................................................Tigers in the NFL 73 .............................................On the Plains: Eugene Asante 75 ......................................University News: Auburn at Work 77 .................... Cheerleaders, Tiger Paws and Marching Band 79-90 ........................................................... Auburn Players 91 ............................ University News: Everybody Loves Aubie 93 ......................................................... Undefeated Seasons 95 ................................. University News: Alabama Extension 97 .................................................Southeastern Conference 99 .....................................Olympic Sports Update: Volleyball 102-103 .........................................Auburn Sports Properties Cover: Robby Ashford & Jaylin Simpson TABLE OF CONTENTS AUBURNTIGERS.COM2023 AUBURN SCHEDULE 5 AUBURNTIGERS.COM THE RIVER REGION'S OFFICIAL BROADCAST PARTNER OF AUBURN ATHLETICS IF YOU'RE NOT THERE, LISTEN HERE 9.2 UMass Auburn, Ala. Jordan-Hare Stadium 9.16 Samford Auburn, Ala. Jordan-Hare Stadium 10.28 Mississippi State Auburn, Ala. Jordan-Hare Stadium 9.9 Cal Berkeley, Calif. California Memorial Stadium 10.21 Ole Miss Auburn, Ala. Jordan-Hare Stadium 10.14 LSU Baton Rouge, La. Tiger Stadium 9.23 Texas A&M College Station, Texas Kyle Field 11.4 Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. FirstBank Stadium 9.30 Georgia Auburn, Ala. Jordan-Hare Stadium 11.11 Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium 11.18 New Mexico State Auburn, Ala. Jordan-Hare Stadium 11.25 Alabama Auburn, Ala. Jordan-Hare Stadium Blue - Home Orange - Away 2023 AUBURN SCHEDULE6 SCOUTING AUBURN HEAD COACH Hugh Freeze (Southern Miss, 1992) Auburn Record ................................................................1-0 (1st Season) Career Record ........................................................76-48 (13th Season) vs. Cal ...........................................................................................................0-0 AUBURN (1-0, 0-0) Sept. 2 ............................UMASS ..................................................W, 59-14 Sept. 9 ............................at Cal .....................................................9:30 p.m. Sept. 16 ..........................SAMFORD .................................................6 p.m. Sept. 23 .........................at #23 Texas A&M .......................................TBA Sept. 30 .........................#1 GEORGIA ................................................TBA Oct. 14 ............................at #14 LSU ......................................................TBA Oct. 21 ............................#20 OLE MISS .............................................TBA Oct. 28 ...........................MISSISSIPPI STATE ...................................TBA Nov. 4 .............................at Vanderbilt .................................................TBA Nov. 11 .............................at Arkansas ....................................................TBA Nov. 18 ............................NEW MEXICO STATE ..............................TBA Nov. 25 ...........................#3 ALABAMA ..............................................TBA ON THE ROAD n Auburn (1-0) makes its first road trip of the 2023 campaign, visiting the California Golden Bears (1-0) on Saturday, Sept. 2, at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif. ESPN will televise the 9:30 p.m. CT non-conference matchup. n This will equal the latest kickoff time in Auburn history; the Tigers’ 1976 contest at Arizona was a 9:30 CT (7:30 MST) kickoff. n Auburn is 82-42-6 all-time in road openers and 382-366- 39 all-time in all games played away from Auburn. The Tigers have won 11 of their last 19 road openers. SERIES HISTORY n This will be the first meeting on the gridiron between the Tigers and the Cal Golden Bears. n California is the 88th team of 133 current FBS members that Auburn has played. Of the 87 FBS teams Auburn has played previously, the Tigers have defeated 80 at least once; the only exceptions: Minnesota, Oklahoma, Rice, SMU, South Florida and Texas Tech. n Auburn is 10-3 overall and 0-2 on the road against current members of the Pac-12 Conference, including Arizona (2-1), Colorado (1-0), Oregon (2-0), Oregon State (1-0), Southern Cal (1-2), Washington (1-0) and Washington State (2-0). The Tigers’ last matchup with a Pac-12 team was in a 27-21 Auburn victory over Oregon to open the 2019 campaign in Arlington, Texas. n The Tigers are 0-3 all-time in games played in the state of California, those being at Santa Clara in 1936, at No. 18 USC in the Los Angeles Coliseum in 2002, and against No. 1 Florida State in the 2014 BCS championship game played in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. IN SEPTEMBER n Auburn is 185-60-5 (.750) all-time in the month of September; the Tigers are 119-23-1 (.836) all-time at home in September, and 6637- 4 (.632) away from Auburn in that month. Since 1970, the Tigers have had a winning record in the month of September in 45 of 52 seasons. n The Tigers are 6-1 all-time in games played on September 9 and 4-0 away from Auburn on that date. KICKOFF COVERAGE n Hugh Freeze, the 31st head coach in Auburn football histo- ry, won his inaugural game with the Tigers 59-14 over UMass. n With five opponents in the 2023 AP preseason Top 25, no team faces more ranked teams this season than Auburn. Those include Georgia (1), Alabama (4), LSU (5), Ole Miss (22) and Texas A&M (23). n Auburn season ticket sales set a record with 63,500 pur- chased this summer. The previous Auburn record was 62,900 season tickets sold before the 2014 campaign. Because of up- dated premium seating, the capacity at Jordan-Hare Stadium is now 88,043. n Preseason all-SEC Tigers as selected by the league’s coaches include P Oscar Chapman, TE Luke Deal, RB Jarquez Hunter, CB Nehemiah Pritchett and OL Kam Stutts. n Auburn is 57-57-3 all-time in games played on artificial turf; the last such contest was the 2021 Birmingham Bowl vs. Houston. n Robby Ashford rushed for three touchdowns against UMass, the most by an Auburn quarterback since Cam Newton in 2010. n Against UMass, Auburn rushed for six touchdowns for the first time since 2019 vs. Kent State and Mississippi State. The Tigers are one of nine FBS teams with multiple rushes of 40 or more yards this season. SCOUTING AUBURN AUBURNTIGERS.COM Damari AlstonCommitted to playing with a purpose. We’re all about that gameday energy. At Alabama Power, we share your passion for the team— and your pride for where we live. We love big wins, but celebrate all victories that push our state forward. For over 100 years, we’ve been committed to proving what we accomplish together, on and off the field, makes us stronger. It’s Power for a Better Alabama. We proudly support the Auburn Tigers. alabamapower.com © 2023 Alabama Power Company8 SCOUTING CAL HEAD COACH Justin Wilcox (Oregon, ‘99) Cal Record ...................................................................31-36 (7th Season) Career Record ...........................................................31-36 (7th Season) vs. Auburn ..................................................................................................0-0 CAL (0-0) Sept. 2 ............................at North Texas ....................................W, 58-21 Sept. 9 ............................AUBURN .............................................9:30 p.m. Sept. 16 ..........................IDAHO ..................................................3:00 p.m. Sept. 23 .........................at #8 Washington .......................................TBA Sept. 30 .........................ARIZONA STATE ........................................TBA Oct. 7 ..............................#16 OREGON STATE ...............................TBA Oct. 14 ............................at #12 Utah ....................................................TBA Oct. 28 ...........................#6 USC ............................................................TBA Nov. 4 .............................at #13 Oregon ..............................................TBA Nov. 11 .............................WASHINGTON STATE .............................TBA Nov. 18 ............................at Stanford .....................................................TBA Nov. 25 ...........................at UCLA ..........................................................TBA VERSUS SEC OPPONENTS n Cal has enjoyed recent success against SEC teams, winning its last three matchups, including a home-and-home sweep against Ole Miss (2017, 2019) and a 45-31 win over Tennessee to open the 2007 season in Berkeley. OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION n Cal’s offense put on a show in Jake Spavital’s first game back as the Bears’ offensive coordinator in a 58-21 season- opening rout of North Texas last week in Denton, Texas. n The Bears led 33-21 at halftime, the most points a Cal team has scored in a half since amassing 35 in a victory over Texas in 2016, when Spavital served one season as the team’s offensive coordinator. n Cal tallied 669 yards of total offense, its most in a game in eight seasons. It was also the most points the Bears have scored in a game since 2015. n Sophomore running back Jaydn Ott exploded for 188 yards rushing with two touchdowns, the second-highest total of his career. Backup Isaiah Ifanse tied a career-high with three rushing touchdowns in his Cal debut, a feat he previously accomplished twice while playing for Montana State. n Cal’s six rushing touchdowns at North Texas were the Golden Bears’ most since six in a home win over Eastern Washington in 2009. n Cal finished with 357 yards rushing and 312 yards passing to mark only the second time in school history with at least 312 yards rushing and passing. It was the first time the Bears have had at least 300 yards rushing and passing since going for 325 through the air and 311 on the ground in a 52-49 double overtime win against Oregon in 2016. ACC BOUND n Chancellor Carol T. Christ announced last Friday that Cal will join the Atlantic Coast Conference beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. n Longtime Pac-12 rival and neighbor Stanford University also announced last Friday it will be joining the ACC next summer, as did Southern Methodist University, bringing the conference’s member institutions to a total of 18. n Cal values the ACC’s extensive championship culture with competition at the highest level in 28 sports; 24 of which Cal Athletics sponsors. Cal has won 103 national championships in its history and no conference has won more NCAA championships over the last two years than the ACC. CMS 100 n California Memorial Stadium turns 100 in 2023 and has been the home to Cal Football since the stadium’s debut on November 24, 1923. CMS has produced scores of unforgettable memories for generations of Golden Bears,from the Wonder Teams of the 1920s to the Pappy Waldorf years mid-century to recent success that has yielded eight bowl teams since 2003, the facility has treated fans of all ages to many of the greatest moments in the history of Cal Football. n Cal Football has brought many traditions to CMS over the past 100 years. Although started before CMS opened, card stunts continue to be staple on gamedays as fans hold up colorful pieces of paper creating a unique image in the stands. In 1941, Oski, the beloved Golden Bear mascot made his official debut at CMS. The California Victory Cannon was introduced in 1964 and shot off at beginning of the game, after each score, and upon victory. SCOUTING CAL AUBURNTIGERS.COM Isaiah IfansePlease visit our website at www.vcom.edu/outcomes for a copy of our Outcomes Report. ©2023 Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. All rights reserved. www.vcom.edu to become a physician? The Auburn campus of the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine was created with a clear purpose to alleviate the physician shortage in Alabama. VCOM-Auburn constantly works to recruit students from rural and underserved areas. It is our hope that they will return home to serve their community and improve health outcomes across the state. Visit us online to find out how we are inspired to make a difference in our communities and beyond.Next >