On the latest episode of Andy Staples On3, Jesse Simonton joined the show to discuss the Top 25 teams in college football, and the duo disagreed on the Auburn Tigers.
Staples is much more bullish on the Tigers than Simonton, and he explained why Hugh Freeze could have Auburn playing better than many expect throughout the 2024 campaign.
“I have Auburn No. 20 in the country. I think that means I have them like No. 7 in the SEC. … Here’s the thing. I don’t know what it is about Auburn. Whether it’s the water, from the municipal water supply that makes elite play-callers not want to call plays, when they’re at Auburn. Because it happened to Gus Malzahn, and then it happened again to Hugh Freeze when he got there,” Staples stated. “Hugh Freeze, the best thing he does is call plays, and he gets there and he’s like, ‘Too much going on, not going to call plays.’ … Well, Hugh Freeze midway through last season realized that was a mistake. That mistake has been corrected. This is a man whose play-calling scared Nick Saban so much that Nick Saban tried to change the rules.
“So now, he’s calling plays again, and now they’ve added this new rule where he can just radio into his quarterback’s helmet, ‘Throw it to that guy.’ Which by the way, he would do before anyway. … Now he can say it without anybody seeing him.”
While Simonton relented that Auburn has transformed their roster, there’s still various positions that he believes will hold the program back throughout the 2024 season.
“I like what Auburn has done, roster-wise, this year. I think there’s not a lot of arguments with that, for the bones of what Hugh had, to now what they sit here, exiting the spring,” Simonton added. “Receiver position. You get the Georgia State kid. Obviously Cam Coleman. Five-star freshman. Lambert from Penn State. Not an All-Conference guy, but a solid piece. I think there’s some concern still, on the defensive line with Auburn. The offensive line should be a lot better. … It all comes back. Maybe I’m overthinking it. The guys at our Auburn site would certainly suggest that is the case. But you have two of the last three games where they just get completely smoked, against New Mexico State and then in the bowl game against Maryland. … My point is, it’s not like Auburn had a bunch of guys checking out and transferring out of the program.
“This is not like Hugh did a massive overhauling of the roster. A lot of the guys who were in those games are back, and specifically, the starting quarterback. … He’s fine. He’s a fine — he’s a JAG (Just Another Guy), whatever you want to call him. I don’t think he’s going to screw it up for them, I just don’t know if he’s a guy that’s going to be capable of winning them football games, and I think 2025 will be the season where they get a real dude at that position, who’s surrounded by these play-makers that they’ve added, where I’ll say Auburn’s a Top 20 team.”
In the end, Staples relented that him and Simonton really aren’t as far apart as they originally thought, with both having Auburn as a middle of the road team in 2024.
“Auburn fans, you’re used to the rollercoaster,” Staples stated. “You’re on the rollercoaster. I’m not predicting that you’re going to win the SEC. Actually, I have them eighth in the SEC. We’re not as far apart as we think.”
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