AUBURN — Auburn football is in its home turf for spring practice.
The Tigers held their 13th practice of the season on Tuesday, and reporters were given about two hours to watch 10 periods. The team is scheduled to practice one more time this week before A-Day on Saturday (1 p.m. CT, SEC Network+).
“Hopefully we can get through this week healthy,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said Tuesday. “We've been pretty beat up at the receiver position. That's slowed us down a little bit on some of the things we're trying to do. Other than that, we're pretty healthy. (I'm) happy.” Energy and love the passion and what we're seeing from our staff and a lot of our players…I'm excited to finish this week and continue recruiting. ”
Here are the biggest takeaways from Tuesday's practice:
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- Freese said earlier in the day that quarterback Peyton Thorne will enter fall camp as a potential starter. It's easy to see why, as he himself was the most consistent QB of a quartet of redshirt freshman Hank Brown, redshirt sophomore Holden Geliner, and four-star freshman Walker White.
- Thorne had a very nice throw on the run, rolling to his left and firing a deep ball into the end zone that was a near-perfect ball that went over the top of the defender. The walk-on receiver couldn't bring it in, but it was a dime.
- Brown threw a touchdown to freshman WR Cam Coleman, but Coleman came up a little sluggish after taking the pass in the back right corner of the end zone. Coleman appeared to be focusing on his left foot, but was checked by trainers before returning to his teammates. He didn't do another rep after that, but he was nearing the end of practice anyway.
- Second-year cornerback Colton Hood also became upset after colliding with Jaelin Thompson during a play that ended with Thompson picking off Brown. Hood had his leg evaluated before returning to practice, followed by repeated drills.
- Hood has successfully established himself as the team's top three cornerbacks alongside Cain Lee and Keonte Scott. Champion Anthony gets a lot of runs in the slot.
- Redshirt freshman corner J.C. Hart made an interception to take one point from Geliner.
- Freshman cornerback Jay Crawford stood out in some of the reps he received, primarily on the second team. He got the stop on fourth down with a nice pass breakup against Jay Fair.
- The starting offensive line remains (from left to right) Percy Lewis, Dillon Wade, Connor Lue, Jeremiah Wright, and Izavion Miller. Cam Coleman and Robert Lewis were the outside first-team receivers, with Sam Jackson V in the slot.
- Four-star freshman Amaris Williams played a few games as a back linebacker (pass rusher) and Jalen McLeod played less.
- Freshman kicker Towns McGough went 3-for-3 with kicks. His longest distance was from 45 yards, which was comfortable.
- Transfer receiver Sam Jackson V remains in a non-contact jersey as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery. Jackson has been participating in practice almost at full speed and appears otherwise healthy.
- Four-star running back Alvin Henderson, a 2025 graduate, was one of the recruits watching practice. Former offensive lineman Cam Stutz and gunner Britton were also in attendance.
Richard Silva is the Auburn Athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or at X (formerly Twitter name @rich_silva18).
