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 Mississippi State 10 ....................................................................Auburn Roster 12 ......................................................Mississippi State Roster 14 .................................. Opponent Outlook: Mississippi State 16 .............................................................. Auburn Traditions 18 ..................................................................... Depth Charts 20 .............................................................. Stat Comparisons 22-24 ..................... Midseason All-American: Jaylin Simpson 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: Ole Miss 50 ................................... University News: Cancer Treatment 52 ..................................... Meet the Coaches: Ben Aigamaua 54 .......................................... Jordan-Hare Stadium Diagram 56-57 .............................. Jordan-Hare Stadium Parking Map 60 .................................................. Heisman Trophy Winners 62 ................................................................... All-Americans 64 ..................................Meet the Coaches: Carnell Williams 66 ..............................................Postseason Trophy Winners 68-69 .........................................................Tigers in the NFL 73 .................................................Auburn Tigers Superlatives 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: Softball 103-104 ......................................... Auburn Sports Properties Cover: Jaylin Simpson and Rivaldo Fairweather 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 .........................................................................3-4 (1st Season) Career Record ..................................................................78-52 (13th Season) vs. Mississippi State .............................................................................................3-2 AUBURN (3-4, 0-4 SEC) Sept. 2 ................................UMASS ........................................................W, 59-14 Sept. 9 ................................at Cal ..............................................................W, 14-10 Sept. 16 ..............................SAMFORD .................................................W, 45-13 Sept. 23..............................at Texas A&M ...............................................L, 10-27 Sept. 30 .............................#1 GEORGIA..............................................L, 20-27 Oct. 14 ................................at #22 LSU ....................................................L, 18-48 Oct. 21 ................................#13 OLE MISS .............................................L, 21-28 Oct. 28 ...............................MISSISSIPPI STATE ..............................2:30 p.m. Nov. 4 ..................................at Vanderbilt ....................................................3 p.m. Nov. 11 .................................at Arkansas ...........................................................TBA Nov. 18 ................................NEW MEXICO STATE ...................................TBA Nov. 25 ...............................#9 ALABAMA ....................................................TBA MILITARY APPRECIATION DAY n Auburn hosts the Mississippi State Bulldogs for an SEC West matchup on Saturday, Oct. 28, in a 2:30 p.m. CT game played at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. The SEC Network will televise the annual Military Appreciation Day contest. n Fans are asked to wear orange; recognitions include numerous military salutes, winners of the 2023 Leah Rawls Atkins (eques- trian All-American Emma Kurtz) and Cliff Hare (diver Conner Pruitt) awards, softball All-American Maddie Penta and the 2003 national champion swimming and diving team. n In all-time SEC play, Auburn holds a 335-272-18 mark (.551) back through 1933. In SEC games played in Auburn, the Tigers are 144-68-6 (.680) all-time; away from Auburn, the Tigers are 191-203-12 (.486) overall in SEC play. SERIES HISTORY n The Tigers hold a 65-29-2 (.697) record all-time against Mis- sissippi State and have won eight of the last 14 matchups against the Bulldogs. Mississippi State won the 2021 game in Auburn 43-34, and the Bulldogs won 39-33 in overtime last season in Starkville. n Auburn has a 30-8 advantage in all games played at Auburn, a 14-8-1 lead in all games played at Starkville, and a 21-13-1 advan- tage in games played at neutral sites. Those include Birmingham, Alabama (AU leads 14-11-1); Columbus, Mississippi (AU leads 1-0); Jackson, Mississippi (AU leads 5-2); and Montgomery, Alabama (AU leads 1-0). KICKOFF COVERAGE n All Auburn home games have been sold out in advance, the first full-season sellout of Jordan-Hare Stadium for the Tigers since 2015. n Auburn leads the SEC in red zone defense (.783). The Tigers are third in the SEC in turnover margin (0.43 per game). n Auburn is one of 18 FBS teams that have returned a fumble and an interception for a touchdown and is one of 38 teams with multiple defensive scores this season. n Auburn has forced a turnover in 16 straight games dating through last season, the Tigers’ lon- gest streak since 18 straight games in 2007-08. n The Tigers lead the SEC in turnovers forced with 13 through the first seven games (nine in- terceptions, four fumbles recovered). Those nine interceptions are the most by an SEC team this season. n With four interceptions, Jaylin Simpson is among the national FBS leaders in interceptions per game (0.60 per game) this season. Simpson was named a midseason All-American by the As- sociated Press, ESPN, Sporting News and Reese’s Senior Bowl. n Auburn is fourth in the SEC in rushing offense, averaging 186.0 yards per game. Fifteen of the Tigers’ 22 offensive touchdowns have come via the ground game. SCOUTING AUBURN AUBURNTIGERS.COM Donovan Kaufman Committed 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 MISSISSIPPI STATE HEAD COACH Zach Arnett (New Mexico, 2009) Mississippi State Record ...............................................5-3 (1st Season) Career Record ...................................................................5-3 (1st Season) vs. Auburn .....................................................................................................0-0 MISSISSIPPI STATE (4-3, 1-3) Sept. 2 ............................SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA ....W, 48-7 Sept. 9 ............................ARIZONA ...................................W, 31-24 [OT] Sept. 16 ..........................#14 LSU ....................................................L, 14-41 Sept. 23 .........................at South Carolina ...............................L, 30-37 Sept. 30 .........................#12 ALABAMA.....................................L, 17-40 Oct. 7 ..............................WESTERN MICHIGAN .................W, 41-28 Oct. 21 ............................at Arkansas ...............................................W, 7-3 Oct. 28 ...........................at Auburn ............................................2:30 p.m. Nov. 4 .............................KENTUCKY ........................................6:30 p.m. Nov. 11 .............................at Texas A&M ................................................TBA Nov. 18 ............................SOUTHERN MISS ..................................11 a.m. Nov. 23 ...........................#12 OLE MISS ...................................6:30 p.m. WHAT TO WATCH FOR n Nathaniel Watson was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his strong week eight performance at Arkansas. This was Watson’s first career weekly honor. n Shawn Preston Jr. was named to the week eight Pro Football Focus Team of the Week after earning an overall defensive grade of 90.7 at Arkansas. This was Preston’s first career weekly honor. n Mike Wright made his first start at quarterback at Mississippi State this past Saturday at Arkansas. Wright helped lead the Bulldogs to a 7-3 victory over the Razorbacks. Wright started in place of Will Rogers, who was out with an injury, ending Rogers’ streak of consecutive starts at 38. n Following Mississippi State’s win at Arkansas, the Bulldogs have won nine of the 12 games against the Razorbacks, including five of six when the game is played in Fayetteville or Little Rock. n The Mississippi State secondary earned a coverage grade of 89.7 against Arkansas, its best coverage grade since 2014. n Jett Johnson and Nathaniel Watson have combined to be the best linebacking duo in the SEC the last two seasons. After finishing one and two in total tackles in 2022, the pair again ranks near the top of the list in 2023. Johnson leads the SEC in total tackles with 77, while Watson ranks third with 71. n Jett Johnson is averaging an SEC-best 11.0 tackles per game and Nathaniel Watson averaging 10.1 tackles per contest. Johnson and Watson are the only SEC players averaging at least 10+ tackles per game. n Jett Johnson enters Saturday, earning double-digit tackles in five of seven games this season, a streak that included three straight games with 14 tackles. In his career, Johnson has 13 10+ tackle games. n Jo’Quavious Marks ranks sixth in the SEC in rushing. The senior from Atlanta has rushed for 500 yards, the second- most in his career, while adding 138 yards receiving. Marks is also the only active FBS player with 1,000 career rushing yards and 1,000 career receiving yards. n Tulu Griffin was the only SEC player this season with at least 200 yards receiving in a single half and is the only SEC receiver with over 250 yards in a single game this season. n Mississippi State has scored in 39 consecutive games. The last time State was held scoreless was on Oct. 21, 2020, at No. 1 Alabama. The Bulldogs have scored 10+ points in 11 of their last 12 games. BULLDOG NOTEBOOK n There are 51 players from the state of Mississippi on the 2023 roster. Kameron Jones, a graduate student in his sixth season, is the lone Bulldog from Starkville on the roster. n All five starters on MSU’s offensive line have started at least 20 games in their careers, with Kameron Jones (38), Cole Smith (34) and Steven Losoya III (30) leading the way with 30+ career starts. n As the college football season enters week nine, Mississippi State will be playing a road game for just the third time all season. MSU is 1-1 in road games this season. n Mississippi State has had 17 passing plays go for 20 or more yards this season. Of those 17 explosive plays, four have resulted in touchdowns. n Mississippi State is one of just two SEC programs with four interceptions in one game this season when they picked off four passes against Arizona. The only other program with four interceptions in a game is Arkansas. n Dating back to the 2022 season, Mississippi State has recorded a takeaway in 10 of its last 12 games. State has forced multiple turnovers 17 times since 2020. In those games, Mississippi State posted a record of 14-3. SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE AUBURNTIGERS.COM Nathaniel WatsonPlease 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 >