MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze hasn’t been coy in sharing his master plan.
Freeze wants the Tigers to be built through traditional recruiting. The portal won’t be ignored — Auburn has added 33 transfers over the last two offseasons — but the use of it, if everything goes to plan, should dwindle as Freeze gets deeper into his tenure.
The Tigers did admirable work in Freeze’s first full offseason, landing a recruiting class tabbed by the 247Sports Composite as No. 10 in the nation. It’s a group of 18 signees headlined by receiver Cam Coleman, who saw the hype around him rise after catching four passes for nearly 100 yards and a touchdown at A-Day on April 6.
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Coleman will play in Year 1. Freeze has said it.
It may not be ideal given their inexperience, but other rookies alongside Coleman will also have to step up. Here are a handful we think have the best shot of contributing as true freshmen:
5. LB Demarcus Riddick
There seems to be a clear hierarchy at the top of Auburn’s depth chart at linebacker. Returning veterans Eugene Asante and Austin Keys will be amongst the top three at the position, joined by Duke transfer Dorian Mausi Jr. With two LBs on the field together at once on nearly every play, the Tigers need a fourth to step up into the rotation. That opens a door for four-star freshman Demarcus Riddick.
“Demarcus Riddick, he can run,” Freeze said April 2. “He can cover. He’s really talented.”
4. WR Perry Thompson
Coleman is getting all the hype after what he did at A-Day, but fellow freshman receiver Perry Thompson shouldn’t be ignored. Thompson didn’t end the recruiting cycle as strong as Coleman − he was tabbed as the No. 44 player in the Class of 2024 while Coleman was listed at No. 3 − but his stature lends itself to getting on the field. Thompson is listed by247Sports at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds. That’ll hold up in the SEC. He may struggle early since he didn’t go through spring practice like Coleman, but look for Thompson to make his way into the receiver rotation by season’s end.
3. Buck LB Jamonta Waller
The chance for Jamonta Waller to earn early playing time took a hit when the Tigers landed pass rusher Keyron Crawford out of the portal from Arkansas State, but there still remains some opportunity. Crawford and Jalen McLeod will be the top two options in getting after the quarterback, but it’s wide open after that.
“Jamonta is an elite pass rusher,” position coach Josh Aldridge said March 13. “He’s probably the most ready of the young guys from a pass-rush standpoint. Maybe not necessarily the run, just from the strength and things like that. But being able to line up and go rush, he can go do it.”
2. Buck LB Amaris Williams
Another pass rusher along with Waller, Amaris Williams went through spring practice and set himself up nicely for some snaps in Year 1. Auburn didn’t have many fireworks during the Early Signing Period in December, but flipping Williams from Florida served as the big move to catapult the Tigers up the recruiting rankings.
“I feel like it’s coming really easy for them, especially for Amaris in a sense,” fellow freshman Joe Phillips said of Waller and Williams on March 28. “I don’t know what type of school he comes from, but you can tell he’s got some football knowledge.”
1. WR Cam Coleman
In order for Auburn’s offense to be successful in 2024, it’ll require Coleman living up to the hype. That’s a tall ask, given the expectations that have been placed on him. Across Freeze’s 11 seasons as a Division I coach at Arkansas State, Ole Miss, Liberty and Auburn, only two true freshmen WRs have logged over 400 receiving yards: Laquon Treadwell in 2013 (608) and AJ Brown in 2016 (412). If Coleman can pull it off, that’s some elite company to be in.
“Very few people are just readymade and walk in and play in this league, and I want our young men to understand that,” Freeze said April 2. “That doesn’t mean they’re not really, really good. But Cam, on the other hand, is a different cat. He’s going to have to play, and he proved he can when he knows what to do.”
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.