< PreviousSTATS COMPARISONS AUBURN STATS LEADER RUSHING ATT NET AVG TD LONG AVG/G Jarquez Hunter 89 453 5.1 5 53 64.7 Payton Thorne 69 297 4.3 2 61 37.1 Robby Ashford 42 188 4.5 5 18 23.5 PASSING CMP-ATT-INT PCT YDS TD AVG/G Payton Thorne 100-156-5 64.1 1,075 8 134.4 Robby Ashford 14-26-1 53.9 145 2 18.1 RECEIVING NO. YDS AVG TD LONG AVG/G Jay Fair 25 266 10.7 2 36 33.3 Rivaldo Fairweather 25 215 8.6 2 41 26.9 Shane Hooks 9 133 14.8 2 32 16.6 DEFENSE UA A TOT TFL-YDS SACKS-YDS Eugene Asante 38 24 62.0 6.5-32 3.5-24 Larry Nixon III 21 19 40.0 1.5-11 0.0-0 Marcus Harris 15 16 31.0 7.5-24 4.0-17 VANDERBILT STATS LEADER RUSHING ATT NET AVG TD LONG AVG/G Patrick Smith 66 277 4.2 2 40 30.8 Sedrick Alexander 65 251 3.9 4 27 27.9 Jayden McGowan 14 97 6.9 0 16 10.8 PASSING CMP-ATT-INT PCT YDS TD AVG/G AJ Swann 93-173-7 53.8 1,290 11 258.0 Ken Seals 69-113-3 61.1 858 8 122.6 RECEIVING NO. YDS AVG TD LONG AVG/G Will Sheppard 40 591 14.8 8 85 65.7 Jayden McGowan 31 365 11.8 0 50 40.6 London Humphreys 14 350 25.0 4 56 38.9 DEFENSE UA A TOT TFL-YDS SACKS-YDS CJ Taylor 27 25 52.0 7.5-34 3.0-21 Langston Patterson 23 24 47.0 5.5-32 1.0-24 Jaylen Mahoney 29 18 47.0 1.0-1 0.0-0 Here is a quick look at the top team statistics for the Tigers and the Commodores. Quick Look n Total Touchdowns 2730 n Rushing Yards 1,488835 n Passing Yards 1,2872,186 20 STATS COMPARISONS AUBURNTIGERS.COM® FAVORITE CHIP OF THE22 MUSIC CITY REUNION Elijah McAllister hosted Donovan Kaufman on his official visit to Vanderbilt in 2019. Nearly four years later, Kaufman returned the favor, hosting McAllister when Elijah visited the Plains earlier this year. “It’s a full-circle moment,” Kaufman said of Saturday’s SEC clash between Au- burn and Vandy. “I still get to see his pops and all his family before every game. It’s fun.” “I’ve known him for a long time and we’ve grown to become best friends,” McAllister said. “We’re really close and I’m thankful to call him one of my best friends on the team.” SEC network analyst Derek Mason, a former Vanderbilt head coach and Au- burn defensive coordinator, recruited McAllister and Kaufman to Nashville be- fore re-recruiting Kaufman to join the Ti- gers in 2021. “Extremely intelligent guys who I felt embodied what playing football at a high level looked like,” Mason said. “Elijah is special in every way, on the field and off. To me, DK is like Tyrann Mathieu, a young man with a huge thirst for football.” A junior safety, Kaufman played one season at Vanderbilt in 2020 before transferring to the Plains, where he’s been a three-year starter in the secondary. “It holds something special in my heart,” said Kaufman of his affinity for Nashville, which he visits in February each year to celebrate his birthday with friends. “I try to find something new to do every time. There’s a lot of nature there. I’m from New Orleans, we don’t have hills, so to see that is fun.” McAllister, a senior jack linebacker, spent five seasons at Vanderbilt, where MUSIC CITY REUNION AUBURNTIGERS.COM MUSIC CITY REUNION FOR AUBURN’S ELIJAH MCALLISTER, DONOVAN KAUFMAN BY JEFF SHEARERhe earned bachelor’s and master’s de- grees before arriving in Auburn this year. “I’m thankful for the opportunity here,” McAllister said. In his first season on the Plains, Au- burn teammates elected McAllister as a team captain, an honor he twice received at Vanderbilt. “My leadership style is predicated off connectivity,” he said. “I want to be a con- nector who knows my teammates for who they are inside and outside the locker room and uplift their spirits and elevate them so they can play their best. Showing up every day and investing in my team- mates.” Kaufman prefers Auburn’s small-town feel over the big Music City. “You can lock in more at Auburn,” Kaufman said. “Auburn is more family ori- ented. You can feel it.” McAllister, too, appreciates his wel- come into the Auburn family. “The family atmosphere, the love, the tradition,” he said. “That’s been my favor- ite part, the love we have for each other. I feel the love and the energy back in this program, which the fans deserve. I’m glad they are able to have that joy.” Kaufman ranks fourth with 28 tackles for Auburn defensive coordinator Ron Roberts, whose system Kaufman picked up quickly. “It’s a good thing for me because I’ve learned so many different systems,” said Kaufman, who has added 4.5 tackles for loss, a sack and an interception. “It’s going to help me when I get to the next level.” McAllister has recorded 17 tackles and a sack for the Tigers. “We have a ton of confidence in who we are,” McAllister said. “We can finish the season strong so Auburn can have something to build for next year.” A one-time theater major, Kaufman is completing his Auburn University degree in interdisciplinary studies with emphases on business and sports communication. “I have an outgoing personality,” he said. “I like hands-on things. I can’t real- ly sit behind a desk. I have to be moving around.” Raised in church, McAllister created his All Four One and One For All Founda- tion with a mission to develop youth aca- demically, athletically and spiritually. With the holidays approaching, Elijah is plan- ning a shopping spree for children he’s connected with through his foundation. “I want to be able to give kids the op- portunity who don’t have that family feel because it’s tough not to have it,” McAl- lister said. “I know I didn’t get here by myself. If I can use this platform to continue to give back and influence people to make the world a better place, I’m going to do that. I had people sacrifice for me and I want to do that for the next generation.” While pursuing his doctorate in edu- cational leadership and administration from Auburn University, McAllister hopes to use a professional football playing ca- reer as a springboard to becoming an NFL general manager, then return to ac- ademia to be an author and professor of human development. “Leading guys and selecting the right players to build a culture and win a ring,” he said. “A lot of my future is going to be predicated off impacting people in a pos- itive way.” An outdoors enthusiast and aspiring mechanic with a passion for automobiles, Kaufman sees himself one day owning an auto repair shop and ultimately a car dealership. They’ve been on both sides of a series that is all square at 21-21-1. Leading up to Saturday’s 3 p.m. kickoff, McAllister and Kaufman are observing radio silence with the Commodores. There will be time to reconnect afterward. “Those are some of the best friends I’ve had in my life,” McAllister said of his former teammates. “It will be amazing to go back and appreciate what it looks like on the other side in the orange and blue.” “It’ll definitely be different,” Kaufman said. “We still know a lot of people who go to school there. To get to chop it up with them after the game, I can’t wait.” Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @ jeff_shearer AUBURNTIGERS.COM 24 MUSIC CITY REUNION MUSIC CITY REUNION save on auto insurance spend on Tiger merch *INSURANCE FEATURE NOT AVAILABLE IN EVERY STATE. Countrywide average premium savings for customers with safe driving discounts and Drivewise vs. those without. Savings vary by state, based on driving behaviors & based on how you buy. Subject to terms, conditions & availability. In some states, through your participation in Drivewise, your driving data may be used for purposes of rating & your rate could increase with high-risk driving. Allstate Fire and Casualty Ins. Co. & affiliates. 3100 Sanders Rd, Northbrook, IL. © 2023 Allstate Insurance Co. Marks are registered trademarks of their respective owners. PROUD PARTNER Safe driving and Drivewise® saves you 40%*28 HEAD COACH HUGH FREEZE 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, nationally ranked recruiting classes and bowl appear- ances at multiple stops during his highly decorated career. 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 12 years is 103-47. 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, Lib- erty had the best start in program history (8-0), tied the program record for wins (10) and defeated two Power 5 programs in Syracuse and Virginia Tech. For his ef- forts, Freeze was a finalist for the George Munger Collegiate 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. AUBURNTIGERS.COM HUGH FREEZE HEAD COACH® TRUCKWORX.COMNext >