< Previous20 STATS COMPARISONS AUBURNTIGERS.COM AUBURN STATS LEADERS RUSHING ATT NET AVG TD LONG AVG/G Jarquez Hunter 78 528 6.8 3 38 88.0 Damari Alston 29 186 6.4 2 36 31.0 Payton Thorne 54 147 2.7 2 31 29.4 PASSING CMP-ATT-INT PCT YDS TD AVG/G Payton Thorne 77-129-6 59.7 1,238 10 247.6 Hank Brown 27-43-3 62.8 403 6 134.3 RECEIVING NO. YDS AVG TD LONG AVG/G KeAndre Lambert-Smith 24 510 21.3 6 67 85.0 Malcolm Simmons 18 260 14.4 2 57 43.3 Cam Coleman 9 212 23.6 1 44 42.4 DEFENSE UA A TOT TFL-YDS SACKS-YDS Dorian Mausi 22 9 31 4.0-11 1.0-7 Jerrin Thompson 24 5 29 1.0-14 1.0-14 Keldric Faulk 19 8 27 7.0-39 5.0-32 MISSOURI STATS LEADERS RUSHING ATT NET AVG TD LONG AVG/G Nate Noel 79 471 6.0 2 64 94.2 Marcus Carroll 58 281 4.8 5 35 46.8 Brady Cook 40 124 3.1 4 31 20.7 PASSING CMP-ATT-INT PCT YDS TD AVG/G Brady Cook 119-184-1 64.7 1,351 7 225.2 Drew Pyne 19-22-0 86.4 128 0 42.7 RECEIVING NO. YDS AVG TD LONG AVG/G Theo Wease Jr. 31 407 13.1 1 59 67.8 Luther Burden III 31 398 12.8 4 44 66.3 Mookie Cooper 10 151 15.1 0 49 25.2 DEFENSE UA A TOT TFL-YDS SACKS-YDS Corey Flagg Jr. 15 14 29 3.0-9 1.0-2 Marvin Burks Jr. 9 18 27 0.5-1 0.0-0 Chris McClellan 6 17 23 5.0-25 2.5-15 Here is a quick look at the top team statistics for Au- burn and Missouri. . Quick Look n Total Touchdowns 2423 n Rushing Yards 9931,125 n Passing Yards 1,6741,479 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 Jerrin Thompson climbed over the back of a New Mexico receiver, relieving the Lobo of the football in the second it took both players to land on Pat Dye Field. Initially ruled an incompletion, video confirmed what Thompson knew all along. He made an interception so extraordinary, it earned national recognition in the form of the Pop-Tarts Crazy Good Play of the Week in Auburn’s 45-19 win on Sept. 14. “Another blessing,” Thompson said of his first Auburn interception. “God’s work, all the glory to Him. He put me in that po- sition to make that play at that given time. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Him.” After four seasons and 49 games played at Texas from 2020-23, Thompson transferred to Auburn in January, making an impression on and off the field. The defensive MVP of Auburn’s A-Day scrim- mage, Thompson was elected as a team captain, a rarity for a first-year player. “Being true, showing who I am,” Thompson said. “Every day I showed the same guy, so guys didn’t have any ques- tion about who I am. I feel like I’m a born leader. I really care about the guys. “I was truly grateful that they looked at me as someone who can be a leader for this team. A great leader should lead by example always.” Occasionally, that means challenging teammates, holding peers accountable for maintaining team standards. “You’ve got to be able to say things that your brothers are going to be uncomfort- able with,” Thompson said. “That’s the big- gest thing: having confidence and leading by example.” A 6-foot, 186-pound safety, Thomp- son routinely takes on bigger blockers and running backs in addition to his pass cov- erage responsibilities, compiling 24 solo tackles among his 29 stops in his first six Auburn games, two behind team leader Dorian Mausi. “It goes along with the position,” said Thompson, who also makes sure Auburn’s defenders are properly aligned pre-snap. “You’ve got to correct people and make people right. That’s what I do, that’s my lifestyle at safety. I’ve got to be able to play the ball in there and come down to tackle. There’s no other way around it. This is what I love to do.” Looking to reset after an open date allowed rest, recovery and extra prepara- tion, Auburn visits No. 19 Missouri Satur- day at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN and the Auburn Sports Network. COVER FEATURE BY: JEFF SHEARER THOMPSON, SCOTT BRING LEADERSHIP TO AUBURN SECONDARYCommitted 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 “We’ve got a very talented and com- mitted team,” said Thompson, who re- corded his 200th career tackle Sept. 28 against Oklahoma. “We’ve got to start stacking days and be more consistent. If we can stay forward, keep going up on this ladder, rising and getting better every day, then this team has a lot of potential.” A veteran of 55 college football games, Thompson imparts knowledge he’s ac- quired over the past five seasons. “That’s one thing I take pride in,” Thompson said. “Making sure the guys under me are prepared. The bigger your room is, the more guys that you can put on the field, the faster you can play, and you get breaks. “They’re going to teach the guys after them. Playing my role, being who I am, playing football, having fun and doing what I love to do.” Like Thompson, defensive back Keion- te Scott, playing his fifth season of college football and his third on the Plains, eagerly advises Auburn’s newcomers. “It’s definitely important,” Scott said. “Having older vets passing along knowl- edge is something I took pride in when I was a younger guy here at Auburn, learn- ing new things from older players and see- ing how they apply. “Now that I’m a senior, passing along knowledge to those young guys, how to go about it day by day, is very important. When they become seniors, they’ll be able to pass it on to the younger generation.” After leading the SEC and ranking third nationally in punt return average last sea- son, Scott ranks seventh in the conference this season, averaging 7.6 yards per return. “The opportunity to create a play for the offense and generate momentum for this team is something I take pride in,” said Scott, who describes calling for a fair catch as a last resort. “I’m looking forward to the second half of the season trying to create more explosive plays on that side.” Scott, like Thompson, sees potential for Auburn to rally in the season’s second half. “We’re not too far off,” Scott said. “We’re very committed to getting this thing to flip over. It’s going to take a little more commitment to being consistent and doing the little things right. “As young as we are, we’ve got to do the little things right and that will carry over and turn some of those losses to wins.” Amid a sea of underclassmen team- mates in the Auburn secondary, seniors Jerrin Thompson and Keionte Scott stand out. Seasoned veterans sharing their knowledge while seeking to conclude their college careers on a hot streak. “Time is going fast,” Scott said. “I’m definitely blessed for my time here. I want to say thank you. I’m very appreciative of everybody at Auburn and for everything Auburn has done for me. “I’m looking forward toward the second half, being able to play free and play fun. I’m excited for it.” Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at Au- burnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_ shearer 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 >