< Previous20 STATS COMPARISONS AUBURNTIGERS.COM AUBURN STATS LEADERS RUSHING ATT NET AVG TD LONG AVG/G Jarquez Hunter 146 1,015 7.0 5 50 101.5 Damari Alston 50 276 5.5 3 36 27.6 Payton Thorne 91 203 2.2 2 31 22.6 PASSING CMP-ATT-INT PCT YDS TD AVG/G Payton Thorne 156-245-7 63.7 2,111 18 234.6 Hank Brown 27-43-3 62.8 403 6 100.8 RECEIVING NO. YDS AVG TD LONG AVG/G KeAndre Lambert-Smith 40 761 19.0 8 67 76.1 Malcolm Simmons 34 412 12.1 3 57 41.2 Cam Coleman 23 392 17.0 5 47 43.6 DEFENSE UA A TOT TFL-YDS SACKS-YDS Dorian Mausi 41 21 62 7.0-19 1.5-10 Jerrin Thompson 34 15 49 2.0-15 1.0-14 Jalen McLeod 27 11 38 10.5-53 6.0-34 TEXAS A&M STATS LEADERS RUSHING ATT NET AVG TD LONG AVG/G Le’Veon Moss 121 765 6.3 10 75 85.0 Amari Daniels 99 550 5.6 7 71 55.0 Marcel Reed 72 375 5.2 6 31 46.9 PASSING CMP-ATT-INT PCT YDS TD AVG/G Marcel Reed 83-140-2 59.3 1,129 9 141.1 Conner Weigman 64-114-5 56.1 819 3 136.5 RECEIVING NO. YDS AVG TD LONG AVG/G Noah Thomas 26 390 15.0 4 58 39.0 Jabre Barber 27 281 10.4 1 58 31.2 Cyrus Allen 18 269 14.9 1 73 26.9 DEFENSE UA A TOT TFL-YDS SACKS-YDS Taurean York 22 33 55 4.5-16 1.5-9 Dalton Brooks 23 16 39 4.5-15 0.0-0 Marcus Ratcliffe 21 14 35 3.0-11 0.0-0 Here is a quick look at the top team statistics for the Tigers and the Aggies. . Quick Look n Total Touchdowns 3638 n Rushing Yards 1,7202,125 n Passing Yards 2,5651,999 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 EUGENE ASANTE “I’m going to miss the broth- erhood within the locker room. I’ll miss Tiger Walks and seeing all the fans cheering for us. I’ll miss the little kids that tell me that I’m their favorite player. From day one, I understood the rich tradition of playing football here at Auburn, un- derstood that it means something to play here to a lot of people and I wanted him to be a part of that.” JACKSON BARKLEY “There’s no one like the Auburn Family. They’re there for you on game day, they’re there for you throughout the week, they’re there for you outside of football, and, when we talk about us as a team, the fans are included in that, because they support us in every aspect of life.” PHILIP BLIDI “The family aspect was a big reason I came here. The commu- nity is very family-oriented and that’s important to me because I’m a relationship guy and a family man. My experience in football has helped me overcome adver- sity in whatever I’ve faced in my life. In football, you go through adversity but going through it with people you love and people who are going through the same thing as you, having that support teaches you to overcome.” TRILL CARTER “Before I started getting re- cruited in high school, this was my dream school because some peo- ple from my hometown played here, like Montravius Adams and Big Kat Bryant. It took years for me to get here, and I am just blessed to be here.” RONAN CHAMBERS “Just being part of a foot- ball culture like Auburn is really something special and something I hoped to find. My first-ever college game was here at Jordan-Hare, back in 2021, and the atmosphere was incred- ible. When this level of football was presented to me, it was a no-brainer to pursue it.” OSCAR CHAPMAN “To me, it means family, to hear someone shout ‘War Eagle!’ No matter where you are in the world, whenever someone says it, I feel a sense of family. In an airport, in another country, or on the street in Auburn – strang- er or teammate – that’s how it feels – like family.” JOSH COHEN “My older brother Sammy walked on here. I came to his games, and I saw the atmo- sphere here – the fans, Tiger Walk, everything. This place is awesome, and I wanted to be part of it. The walk-on process took a while, but it paid off and was all worth it.” LUKE DEAL “Every time we run out on the field, I think of all the people that went before us. It’s super special to me. There is just a different feeling here. Yes, it’s the loudest in my opinion. Yes, it’s the crazi- est. But the biggest thing is that it all feels genuine. Our fans truly love Auburn, and we can feel that love. The passion and the intensity every time you step on the field no matter who we are playing -- it’s pretty cool.” COVER FEATURE BY: SHELLEY POE 2024 SENIOR CLASS: IN THEIR WORDS Auburn’s 2024 senior class, says two-time team captain Luke Deal, has continued to stay the course. “Obviously there have been disappointments this year, but this senior class is resilient and devoted to leaving a legacy for others. These guys are my brothers and that’s really our job -- to build for the future one day at a time and leave it better than we found it.”Committed 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 CompanyRIVALDO FAIRWEATHER “Coach Freeze has said that football teaches you a lot of life lessons; you are not going to succeed every time. Sometimes you are going to fail, but it’s not failure. It’s a learning opportunity and a steppingstone in your path. Just keep pushing and trust in God. The work you put in when you’re not in the stadium and it’s not game day and everyone else is just relaxing, that is the work that really shows on the field.” FA’NAJAE GOTAY “Coming in, I could feel it in my soul – I could feel the bonds. People welcomed me with open arms right away so I could tell this is a family. This is truly a team -- and those are the teams that create success for them- selves and for the future.” GRANT HIDALGO “I’ve found a culture and a family and a fan base that puts football first. The fans care not just about the sport, but they care about the players; everywhere you go on campus or around town, they are very supportive. That’s rare.” JARQUEZ HUNTER “I always wanted to play at Au- burn -- always -- since I was a little kid. There was just something about the Tigers that caught my eye. I was always in love with Au- burn and wanted to come here, and now I’ve got a great degree from Auburn that will take me a long way beyond just playing football. It feels like family every time I walk through campus.” JAYSON JONES “I would tell young players to go to a place that is good for you. The Auburn Family really means a lot and I love this city. I wish I could stay here forever.” AUSTIN KEYS “Auburn’s been nothing but great to me since I’ve been here, and I’ve played each game and every snap like it’s my last. From the first football game I played in at Jordan-Hare, it’s been insane. Having eighty-eight thousand fans screaming for you is unreal. But that’s family.” JAKE KRUSE “War Eagle means no matter what, even in the position our team has been through this year, people still say it and they mean it. The Auburn fans are so loyal and they’re going to show out every time. War Eagle for us means we’re all in it together – no matter what, we’re going to keep pushing – it’s a motto to live by.” KEANDRE LAMBERT-SMITH “I feel like there are lessons to be learned in every situation and I don’t regret anything. God put me in front of Coach (Marcus) Davis, this staff and these team- mates for a reason. I don’t regret anything, and I appreciate this experience.” PERCY LEWIS IV “Football teaches you many things, especially when it’s difficult. You learn how to tackle challenges and obstacles. If it was an easy sport, everybody would do it. My experience here has been really good. Every day, I feel like I’m home.” ROBERT LEWIS “My relationship here with the coaches and players has been excellent. I feel like each and every day is nothing but trending upward. I love being around these guys. And it’s SEC football, the best in the country.” Continued On Page 52 24 COVER FEATURE AUBURNTIGERS.COM 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 >