Hugh Freeze’s Massive Undertaking: Auburn Football Scholarship Tracker
In a thorough assessment of the Auburn Tigers’ football scholarship situation, it becomes clear that head coach Hugh Freeze has been making significant strides in reshaping the roster during his tenure. As of now, the senior class comprises 23 scholarship players (excluding Brian Battie), with only four being high school signees who have remained with the program throughout their college careers. Of these, three were recruited by former head coach Gus Malzahn—Oscar Chapman, Brandon Frazier, and Luke Deal—while Jarquez Hunter represents the sole player from Bryan Harsin’s 2021 signing class.
The current senior class also includes Keionte Scott, a junior college signee from Harsin’s era, and Eugene Asante along with Jayson Jones, who were both acquired through the transfer portal. In total, Malzahn signed three of the current seniors, while Harsin contributed four players to this year’s senior group.
Remarkably, in just his second year, Freeze has been responsible for bringing in 16 of the 23 scholarship seniors. Among these, Izavion Miller is the lone junior college player, while the remaining 15 are transfers from various programs, including notable names like Payton Thorne (Michigan State), Jerrin Thompson (Texas), and KeAndre Lambert-Smith (Penn State), among others. It is noteworthy that Griffin Speaks, who was initially a walk-on, earned a scholarship before the start of the 2024 season.
Examining Auburn’s junior scholarship players reveals a similar trend; the majority were recruited by Freeze. Currently, there are 18 scholarship juniors, with two having previously walked on to the team—Justin Jones and Sean Jackson. The remaining juniors consist of three players who were signed by Malzahn in 2020 (Tate Johnson, Jeremiah Wright, and Zykeivous Walker) and three by Harsin in 2022 (Damari Alston, Camden Brown, and Caleb Wooden). The other nine juniors were brought in by Freeze, including both junior college recruits and players who transferred from other schools.
In total, when considering Auburn’s scholarship upperclassmen, six were high school signees under Malzahn, and four were signed by Harsin. Harsin also contributed one player from junior college and had a couple of walk-ons who later earned scholarships.
In contrast, Freeze has brought in a staggering 25 of the current juniors and seniors—four from junior colleges and 21 from the transfer portal. This strategy clearly reflects Freeze’s focus on rapidly improving the talent pool at Auburn.
When evaluating contributions at each position, it becomes evident that Freeze’s recruits make up a substantial portion of the roster. The following breakdown highlights the contributions without implying a formal depth chart:
Quarterback
Payton Thorne – Transfer from Michigan State (Freeze)
Hank Brown – Signee (Freeze)
Running Back
Jarquez Hunter – Harsin Signee
Damari Alston – Harsin Signee
Jeremiah Cobb – Harsin Commitment, Freeze Signee
Tight End
Rivaldo Fairweather – Transfer from FIU (Freeze)
Brandon Frazier – Malzahn Signee
Luke Deal – Malzahn Signee
Micah Riley – Harsin Signee
Wide Receiver
KeAndre Lambert-Smith – Transfer from Penn State (Freeze)
Cam Coleman – Signee (Freeze)
Robert Lewis – Transfer from Georgia State (Freeze)
Malcolm Simmons – Signee (Freeze)
Sam Jackson V – Transfer from California (Freeze)
Perry Thompson – Signee (Freeze)
Camden Brown – Harsin Signee
Caleb Burton – Transfer from Ohio State (Freeze)
Offensive Line
Izavion Miller – Junior College Signee (Freeze)
Dillon Wade – Transfer (Freeze)
Connor Lew – Signee (Freeze)
Jeremiah Wright – Malzahn Signee
Bradyn Joiner – Harsin Commitment, Freeze Signee
Tate Johnson – Malzahn Signee
Tyler Johnson – Signee (Freeze)
Percy Lewis – Transfer (Freeze)
Ronan Chambers – Transfer from Akron (Freeze)
Defensive Line and Buck
Keldric Faulk – Signee (Freeze)
Quientrail Jameson-Travis – Junior College Signee (Freeze)
Philip Blidi – Transfer from Indiana (Freeze)
Jalen McLeod – Transfer from Appalachian State (Freeze)
Keyron Crawford – Transfer from Arkansas State (Freeze)
Malik Blocton – Signee (Freeze)
Amaris Williams – Signee (Freeze)
Zykeivous Walker – Malzahn Signee
Jayson Jones – Transfer from Oregon (Harsin)
Isaiah Raikes – Transfer from USC (Freeze)
Trill Carter – Transfer from Texas (Freeze)
Linebacker
Eugene Asante – Transfer from North Carolina (Harsin)
Austin Keys – Transfer from Ole Miss (Freeze)
Dorian Mausi Jr – Transfer from Duke (Freeze)
Demarcus Riddick – Signee (Freeze)
Robert Woodyard – Harsin Signee
Secondary
Kayin Lee – Signee (Freeze)
Jay Crawford – Signee (Freeze)
Jerrin Thompson – Transfer from Texas (Freeze)
Caleb Wooden – Harsin Signee
Kaleb Harris – Signee (Freeze)
Sylvester Smith – Signee (Freeze)
Kensley Louidor-Faustin – Signee (Freeze)
Keionte Scott – Junior College Signee (Harsin)
Champ Anthony – Junior College Signee (Freeze)
JC Hart – Signee (Freeze)
Antonio Kite – Transfer from Alabama (Freeze)
Jahquez Robinson – Transfer from Colorado (Freeze)
Special Teams
Oscar Chapman – Malzahn (Blueshirt offer)
Alex McPherson – Harsin Signee
Towns McGough – Signee (Freeze)
Overall, the breakdown of signees among the top contributors illustrates a clear trend in roster development:
Freeze: 39 contributions
Harsin: 10 contributions
Malzahn: 6 contributions
When summarizing the scholarship signees currently on the roster:
Freeze: 62 players
Harsin: 14 players
Malzahn: 6 players
Freeze’s rapid overhaul of the Auburn roster is noteworthy; he has signed 62 out of 82 scholarship players in a remarkably short time. In contrast, Harsin is responsible for just 14 players—only nine of whom were high school recruits. This stark contrast underscores the significant impact of Harsin’s brief tenure and the damage done to the roster during that period.
With only six Malzahn recruits remaining on the roster, it is telling that Gus Malzahn has almost as many players left as Harsin, further emphasizing the challenges the program faced. Freeze’s efforts to rebuild the Auburn football program have only just begun, but with a top-10 recruiting class on the horizon, the future looks promising as the talent pool continues to improve.
