Why This Season Feels Different for the Auburn Tigers

AUBURN, Ala.- With fall camp soon underway, there are many things Auburn Tigers fans, and even college football fans, are looking for with the 2025 version of head coach Hugh Freeze’s team. 

Auburn has not posted a positive record since the 2019 season, when they went 9-4. Not really eye-catching, is it? So what could be different this year?

"We embrace the fact that that is what Auburn should be, in those talks year in, year out," Head coach Hugh Freeze said of raised expectations at SEC Media Days. "It takes a little time to build it, and we've been doing that. Certainly I wish we would have won more games a few times, but the future is very bright in my eyes. We've been blessed everywhere we've been to win, and I expect nothing less than that at Auburn."

For starters, Auburn is seemingly confident in its new man under center, transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold. At Oklahoma, Arnold showed flashes of his talent, but was limited in part to injuries around him. 

In high school, Arnold was a five-star prospect and earned the 2022 Gatorade National Player of the Year. Just yesterday, he and sophomore phenom wide receiver Cam Coleman were named to the Maxwell Award watch list, which is presented annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Last season, Jarquez Hunter was the lone Tiger on the preseason watch list for the award.

Arnold isn’t the only one who can bring a spark to the team, Cam Coleman and new transfer wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. bring a jaw-dropping aspect to the offense. Coleman had splashes of highlight-reel plays last year, but did not really get the ball consistently until near the end of the season, and Freeze will surely look to get the ball in his hands early this season.

With a new haul of offensive linemen via the transfer portal, Arnold will hopefully have time to make his reads. Xavier Chaplin and Mason Murphy are the likely tackles to anchor the edges. And returning linemen Connor Lew, Dillon Wade, and Jeremiah Wright will anchor the middle of the offensive line. 

Defensively, the Tigers have always been solid, often finding themselves on the field more than they would like. Defensive lineman Keldrick Faulk, a projected top 10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft according to CBS, will continue to lead the defense, but he has plenty of help up front with second-year defensive tackle Malik Blocton and emerging star at linebacker Demarcus Riddick.  

For the special teams, Tigers fans are excited to hear that place kicker Alex McPherson is back with the team, after being sidelined most of last season with ulcerative colitis. In 2023 McPherson did not miss a single kick, going 13-13 FG and 40-40 PAT. McPherson’s replacement last season, Towns McGough, went 5-12 on field goals, and the Tigers finished last in the country in field goal percentage. 

All in all, the Tigers have put together a roster that can compete in the SEC, and possibly in all of college football. Nostalgic Auburn fans feel a buzz on the Plains, feeling that it is time for the Auburn Tigers to make a statement this season and put themselves back on the map, rather than being chalked up as an automatic win by their historic rivals.

Optimism reigns supreme in the preseason, but there are multiple reasons to feel like this Auburn Tigers squad can deliver.