Head to Head: Auburn vs Alabama A&M

well the countdown is finally over game week is here college football kicks off all across the country and Auburn will be in the friendly confines of Jordan hair Stadium for the first five weeks of the Season beginning with Alabama A&M on Saturday kickoff set for 6:30 on the planes he's Cole cuck I'm Simone Eli this is head-to-head let's go [Music] in welcome back everybody for another season of Auburn football head-to-head Cole cuix Simone Eli joining you to break down all of the matchups Cole uh it seems like it kind of flies by uh well for a minute it seems like it's lagging then The Season's here then we all feel like we're rushing to get to a kickoff and time's up I I think it's going to be more people that are more interested to see actual football Simone the first couple weeks of this season because college football is almost entered into the NFL model where they we have news every day year round and some of that NE necessarily good some's not positive but it's sort of where we are and I know a lot of it wasn't intentional but I mean Greg maroy and I do a radio show in Birmingham we've talked about it the last two off Seasons how insane it's been just the amount of news on a daily basis it's never like this it's usually top five lists or what if this guy went here or greatest coaches of all time we haven't had to do any of that the last two off Seasons because it's just been jam-packed yeah it really has of course uh the transfer portal situation ramping up nil just seeing guys in and out of programs it's really also hard to keep track of rosters and and who's where and I mean I think I was watching Florida State lose and I mean there were guys I was like well when did he get over there I didn't even realize what's happening last last weekend in Poler wherever the heck they were playing and I was like what what is this college football the landscape is ever changing and as we know we'll see that on an even bigger level later in the season with the change in the college ball playoff absolutely 12 teams going to be in now no divisions in the SEC we have expansion in the SEC as well and Oklahoma coming into the league that Oklahoma game at Auburn is going to be absolutely massive a couple weeks into the season so there are so many things to be excited about but also there's so many things that we need to learn we're gonna have to retrain our brains on so many different things like 10 and two nine and three might not be that bad anymore and you know if you if you don't go to your conference Championship game but you're a 101 win team that actually might be of benefit now because we don't know what's going to happen to conference title game l losers we usually just throw those out to like the chees bow or something so yeah are they still going to be in the playoff how far down in the rankings are they going to go there just there's so many unknowns in this season and we didn't even start talking about different players in different places it's gonna be fun to watch there's no doubt yeah it really is definitely increasing the parody and college football and the interest as well it's going to be very fun to watch and when you talk about the Auburn Tigers when you think about things that you really lots of unanswered questions that's really the theme going into a year two under Hugh frees and he even alluded to that in his Monday press conference that he has going into each game is that he doesn't really know what it's going to look like until you rolled out there and you talk to coaches really any level of football whether it's flag football with you know your son or whether it's high school football with my husband or the college football it's like you want to see it happen you've seen it in practice you've been concerned here and there and when you finally roll it out there let's just see what it looks like and Coach free said that on Monday it might take a couple weeks to really figure out what this is It's just that's every year I can tell you starting year two year three at Auburn that first game was always different just because there's a re acclamation process and now I imagine that it's even more so because they're not in pads near as much as we were when I played football or even five 10 years ago so getting back out there going full speed going full speed against somebody else that's going full speed yeah the Rarity in which that actually takes place in today's college football has to make it more difficult and then you throw in the transfer portal so many new players on your roster what the timing is going to be like the Rhythm the continuity the chemistry the feel you have to find out in a live game what that's going to be like you can try and simulate it but it's just never exactly the same and that's why there's a lot about this Auburn team I'm excited about I think there's reason to be excited and to have positive vibes about where Hugh frieza's team is moving into this season was there anything better guys than Cole cuck being positive going into the college football season like this is great energy already I mean what more could we ask for and I mean listen when you go into year two as as a head coach as a coaching staff and we know there's a lot of changes with what coach freze has done in the offseason and and coordinators and and guys coming in who are going to play key roles even these young guys and we'll talk about the receivers in a moment but there's continuity and and similar language and you I think that we all know that coach free is gonna have a heavier hand in the offense and what that looks like well when you have a guy in Payton Thorne who's back at starting quarterback position who knows just what it's like to walk through the building and and what it just feels like to out there at Jordan Stadium there's got to be positive in that just in terms of continuity bringing in key pieces on the outside that are going to be important even when we still try to figure out what's going on up front as you look at the offense Cole this is a position in in a in a side of the ball that you're so familiar with where do you feel like Auburn is as they enter 2024 yeah I want to go back to the beginning of what you said there and it's year two I can vividly remember under NL mazone as our offensive coordinator when I was at Auburn how much of a better grasp we had on everything year two also year two year one they're you're trying to just basically do with what you have there were some bodies that Hugh frees had to keep around to just make sure they had guys to practice against I do think going into year two you a lot more of the turds have been run off I guess we'll say I don't know another really way to put it so you've heard him talking this offseason about the guys care a little bit more they seem to like each other a little bit more well most guys in today's day of college football if there's people they don't like on their team or coaches they don't like on the staff they're just going to leave and we didn't have that option but now they do so you could imagine that's going to be better now fast forward into being into the system and guys just being around one another a little bit more that's going to make things easier to grasp that's going to give you different answers to different problems you're going to face because it's not as complicated year two as it was year one go to the positions that you referenced quarterback pyton Thorne's going to be back the overall Comfort level should be better for him walking around campus walk around the facility as you said being around his teammates he can assert himself a little bit more that's the one thing that's been wild about the portal that I've always wondered is I can't imagine walking into a building yeah with a bunch of dudes that had been there two three four five on hell now seven eight years for some guys yeah and acting like you sort of run the show and being a legitimate leader it's pretty cool to see with certain teams that is available and I think one thing that was available with this Auburn team if you go to say jiren Thompson at safety or Robert Lewis at receiver my understanding is those guys have come in asserted themselves held other players at their positions accountable been great communicators so that tells you that Hugh fre had a space for not just talent but leaders to come in and make an impact on this football team that wide receiver room is going to be totally different it underachieved last year it wasn't good last year they couldn't separate they didn't make difficult catches they didn't make life easier on Payton Thorne he has plenty of the blame to be taken here I'm not excusing his performances but his life was made more difficult by that receiver room a year ago yeah there's still going to be a run first offense nobody's talking about jarquez Hunter for whatever reason right now I think he's the most proven back in the SEC going into this season Connor Lou is not going to be a first year starter at Center he's going to be back you move Dylan way down to guard Jeremiah Wright is ready to go he is a legitimate glass eater at Right Guard I think you have a little bit of an issue at left tackle that you still have to kind of work out but if the Run game's there more attention is going to be paid to that which it wasn't really last year I'm excited about the offense I think it's I think it has the opportunity to exceed expectations and I think the quarterback will be a big part of that he doesn't have to be Joe burrow he doesn't have to be Jaden Daniels or Bryce young for Auburn's offense to be good I think when you look at pton Thorne going out and just being someone who operates this offense at a high level and is consistent and understands where the ball is supposed to go and my understanding is he's been able to have a lot more put on him from a decision-making standpoint this fall that's where the offense is going to sort of go to the next level let's talk about the other side of the ball now I mean I think that the biggest name that that kind of entered space I guess for for Auburn so to speak was DJ jerkin and what it was that he was going to um bring to Auburn football team this is a guy who's a coach at very high level he's been a head coach um at at the high high level as well it seemed like during fall Camp when guys were asked about what he was bringing to the table what he was bringing to practices was an intensity and an energy that maybe didn't exist previously what have you heard uh in that locker room and where do you envision this side of the ball in terms of the veterans that are returning uh the opportunity for guys that have come in now to make an impact early on well the first thing I can tell you about DJ Durkin because I covered him at Florida at Old Miss a couple of different stops is his players love playing for him and at Texas A&M like his guys will get after it they understand the intensity that it takes to be a good defense the other part is being multiple remember DJ Durkin was forced by Lane kein essentially to go learn the 335 because at that point in time Lane thought that was the best advantage that they had to play successful defense they weren't going to have enough big bodies weren't going to be able to go up against other teams in the league and it was probably a pretty good thought by Lane but that wasn't what DJ Ran So now he brings a multitude of fronts that he has played or has been forced to played that he can throw at you he was much more four down the Texas a but probably had the best defensive line in college football last year yeah so you you look at where he's been what he's had to do what he's been forced to do I think being multiple is going to be a massive Advantage for this Auburn defense I think you have a couple of linebackers that are going to be active my biggest question Mark's just going to be up front do you have someone who can be a consistent disruptor along that defensive line Philip Ley comes in he might end up being that guy don't know for sure if it's going to be him Isaiah Rees who was with DJ at Texas a& in for a little while understands exactly what that's going to be all about he might end up being that guy I think you have two Edge rushers but their size concerns me just a little bit like Jaylen McLoud can get after the quarterback but he's not a big physical guy I love the Kon Crawford kid that they got from Arkansas State when I watch this film his motor is a th000 miles an hour all the time but he's just not super Stout keldrick fault can be that guy on the edge that's a little bit bigger a little bit more physical but you have downhill linebackers and like an Austin Keys you have side to side linebackers into Eugene Sante so I I just the numbers at linebacker and the disruptors up front are kind of my biggest question marks but I love the fact that DJ is going to be able to do different things on a week in week out basis I think the secondary will play out and be fine I feel pretty good about that group I just want to see what it looks like first and foremost because I I don't have a real great feel for exactly how he's going to want to live each and every week yeah let's talk about uh Saturday and it's going to be the first of five home games for Auburn which I don't know who scheduled that how if the cards just turned out right after everything with the the Scramble with the SEC and but uh kudos to them because this is if there's a year to do it and a year that you want to have a few games under your belt to get comfortable before you're gon to kick off conference play you can do it at home uh this is this is gonna be it I mean your year two for Hugh frees you feel like you know there Auburn is so hard to play that was one thing I I don't want to I don't want to not mention by the way during SEC media days a lot of kids I shouldn't say kids student athletes were asked about where the Hest play place to play is and the SEC so many folks mentioned Auburn I was I and I I feel that when I'm on the field I mean it's intimidating it's exciting it's fun people were asked is it which one's more intimidating exciting Bryant Denny Jordan har and across the board I don't know who was doing this story was kind of great though it was it was Jordan hair and I mean youan you've been there I mean once or twice like you have to believe that there's going to be a huge advantage to starting the season in three non-conference games at home uh and what that can do for this team it's confidence I've had multiple quarterbacks see for me it's a little bit different because that that was something that we fed off of and it never felt that way to us but Trevor Knight who was at A&M mroy who's at Alabama Aaron Murray they they've all told me that if it's not the difficult it's one of the most difficult and vastly underrated and how difficult it is to go into Jordan stadium and win a game to be able to have that comfort of being at home the first month of the season now they'll pay for it as well because come October the 5th they don't come back home until November the 2nd so you almost have a full month away from Jordan hair stadium also but especially with the first SEC game in Arkansas being at home that's massive and that Oklahoma game is going to be Monumental um first road SEC game for Oklahoma they'll be coming off that Tennessee game which I've had some Oklahoma fans and people in the media that cover that team say that could be the biggest regular season game in Sooner football history which even if it's in that league in that category we're talking about a massive game and Auburn gets to catch them coming off that so yeah it gives you a real opportunity to get off to a great start to gain a ton of confidence and use that fanbase that is so passionate that makes life difficult on so many other opponents to sort of get ahead of the curve before you get into a little bit more of the meat of the schedule yeah what do you want to see let's have we enter really Alabama A&M what do you want to see from this team and how much do you think that Hugh freeze shows I mean you know that that they're gonna be able to open it up a little bit we've talked about that for the last 15 minutes but where what do you do in these first three games non-conference at home that's going to excite your fan base excite the recruiting Trail and guys that you want to be bring in and show them hey we're gonna you know we're gonna be dynamic we're gonna open up the Playbook well also not saying this is everything that we have by week four the good news is because of how that offense has run Simone you can run a lot of it but not show all of it yeah um because they're going to be options and different answers for how different things are played that you may not necessarily take advantage of I loved coach freeze this week talking about this topic and then saying these receivers haven't been in this uniform a lot of them haven't been in the stadium to play a game or played in the SEC like we need to give those guys opportunities we need to allow them to go out and show us what they're capable of we need to go out and try to build their confidence so don't be surprised if Payton Thorne or possibly a different quarterback even later in the game is still pushing the ball down the field and allowing these receivers to get more comfortable to gain some confidence to make a few plays just because it's so new to so many of them maybe not the actual football part but the football at Auburn in an Auburn uniform in that Stadium around each other I think he wants to go out and see what he's got on his hands to me it's always just about going out and operating the offense y going out and just making sure you take care of your fundamentals you get lined up on time decision- making by the quarterback getting it in and out of the mesh getting a football out on time if you need to throw it away throw it away live for the next play don't waste time and don't go out there look hesitant or look indecisive and then defensively it's pretty easy alignment assignment effort those are the three things that I always start with that I want to see from a group are you lined up correctly are you allowing your opponent to steal yards do you know what your assignment is how to fit a run where to be in coverage and just are you flying around I think if you get those three things from this Auburn defense it's going to be a bit of a physical outmatch for what and Alabama pretty big offensive line they're pretty physical you got quarterback running back receiver that all have a chance to be all conference returning but still they should be able to dominate the line of scrim image and that's what I'm looking most for is to see which one of those individuals up front on that defensive line stands out and maybe can become that disruptor later on in the season that we referenced earlier in the show later in the season a lot more exciting predictions to come where do you feel like this one's going to look end up on the scoreboard uh when we hit Triple zero I I think this is going to be 4214 like I said you've got Cornelius Brown back at quarterback Donovan Engish back at tailback to Kobe r at wide receiver Alabama A&M has a little continuity in some field some guys that have played football ball together won't be surprised if they hit a few down the field especially with the new defensive coordinator and some new players on that side of the ball but I think the Auburn offense gets going too and I think they'll be way too much to handle physically they'll outmatch the the Bulldogs in the trenches on both sides and I think Auburn gets a comfortable win like it I I'm similar I had 357 so we'll see how it goes guys a 6:30 kickoff at Jordan har Stadium We Appreciate You tuning into the first episode addition so to speak of head-to-head as week one kicks off all throughout the country including here in the SEC looking forward to it uh every week here with Cole cuck uh for for Cole I'm Sim we will see you for week two brought to you by Alabama beef farmers and Ranchers