Athlon, Lindy's differ slightly on Auburn football predictions, see tough rebuild ahead

AUBURN — Auburn football isn’t close to where Hugh Freeze wants it to be, but you have to start somewhere.

“I want our fans to be excited about the momentum we’ve created here. Do we have a ways to go? Yes. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be excited about where we are currently,” Freeze said in April.

The Tigers have landed eight commitments for the 2024 class so far, with six of them being four-star prospects according to the On3 Consensus Rankings. That’s a good start, but still only ranks them 15th nationally and 7th among SEC teams. Rank by average rating per commitment and the Tigers sit 11th nationally.

Freeze and staff secured the nation’s 17th-ranked recruiting class, 8th in the SEC, after their arrival in late November. Most of that class is on campus as summer workouts have begun.

Auburn made up ground in the transfer portal finishing with the 5th-ranked portal class , tops among SEC teams. That group is made up of expected impact players like Payton Thorne, Justin Rogers, Rivaldo Fairweather, Shane Hooks, Jyaire Shorter, Brian Battie, Gunner Britton, Avery Jones, Dillon Wade and others.

While we await SEC media days and preseason media predictions in July, that’ll be held in Nashville and not Birmingham or Atlanta by the way, we do have some other popular preseason fodder to react to. Lindy’s Sports and Athlon Sports (click links to purchase the magazines, or grab one wherever magazines are sold) preseason college football magazines hit the newsstands recently, both having some interesting things to say about the Tigers.

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Athlon’s opinions and predictions

An anonymous SEC assistant coach says the gap between Auburn and foes Alabama and Georgia is the biggest gap its faced in “decades.”

Here’s the entire quote from an anonymous SEC assistant coach: “It’s gonna be another weird year. They’re getting a boost from Freeze coming back in the league and just not being Bryan Harsin. For all of Freeze’s problems, he can manage an SEC culture a thousand times better than Hars…They’re starting over, but its Auburn, so they have good running backs. After that, they’re pretty mediocre. This is a messy-looking roster compared to the top half of the league… Freeze didn’t really bring in the all-star staff he promised. It’s weird, there’s a lot of his Liberty dudes, and then you have Ron Roberts and the old Tulsa head coach (Philip Montgomery)… He’s going to use the entire season as a recruiting platform like he did those first two years at Ole Miss because the offensive line and the receivers are bad and don’t know the system, but Auburn is going to expect him to operate on a faster timeline. They’r so far behind ‘Bama and Georgia; it’s maybe the biggest gap in decades.”

Athlon’s final analysis says, “Freeze has his work cut out for him trying to revive the program that bottomed out under Bryan Harsin, finishing 5-7 and missing a bowl game for the first time since 2012. Freeze has tried to temper expectations while still maintaining a belief that he can turn things around in quick order. Whether he’ll be able to do that will hinge on finding the right quarterback to helm his system, but just making a bowl game in Year 1 should be considered progress.”

ATHLON PREDICTIONS: Athlon predicts Auburn to finish dead last in the Western Division with a 6-6 overall record, 2-6 record in SEC play, and ranks the Tigers the 39th best team in college football.

• The magazine says Auburn will face N.C. State in the Gasparilla Bowl at season’s end.

• The magazine says Auburn’s position group rankings among SEC teams are as follows: QB 14th, RB 5th, WR 14th, OL 11th, DL 10th, LB 11th, DB 5th.

• Lastly, the magazine predicts Jarquez Hunter as All-SEC second-team selection at RB, with Justin Rogers a third-team selection at DL, DJ James a third-team selection at CB, and Brian Battie a third-team selection as kick returner.

Lindy’s opinions and predictions

Lindy’s doesn’t quote anonymous coaches, but does offer analysis.

Here’s what Lindy’s says about Auburn’s strengths…: “Deep, talented running back room. Tight end position loaded with size and experience. Veteran offensive line. Helped offensively and defensively through transfer portal additions. One of the best defensive backfields in the SEC, if not the country. Reliable kicking game.”

…and weaknesses: “Few returning starters on offense. Need to determine starting quarterback sooner rather than later. Wide receiver group needs more depth, deep threats. Defensive front seven needs more depth, too. Will this many incoming transfers mesh well with returners?”

Lindy’s final overview says, “Auburn hadn’t had back-to-back losing records since 1998-99 — until 2021-22. Still, enthusiasm generated by interim head coach ‘Cadillac’ Williams caught the nation’s attention and is still there. Since then: new head coach, significant transfer portal additions, and an impressive signing class. As usual, the schedule is tough. If the Tigers settle on an effective quarterback and develop a deeper receiving corps, have a big-play defensive front seven and flip the negative turnover ratio, Auburn might surprise some folks. But that’s a lot of big ‘ifs.'”

LINDY’S PREDICTIONS: Lindy’s predicts Auburn to finish sixth in the Western Division ahead of only Mississippi State, and ranks the Tigers the 42nd best team in college football.

• The magazine predicts Hunter as All-SEC second-team selection at RB, and James a third-team All-SEC selection at CB.

• The magazine doesn’t list any player from Auburn among the league’s Top-10 NFL talent, or any incoming freshman among the league’s Top-20 incoming recruits.

• The magazine selects incoming freshman Keldric Faulk as its “top newcomer,” saying of Faulk, “Auburn wasn’t always on the top of Faulk’s list. The 6-5, 270-pound defensive lineman originally committed to Florida State…he was a prized Seminole catch… until he flipped to Auburn.”