Observations: The 2024 A-Day Game
After three straight losing seasons, the future is now for Auburn football — and Saturday's spring finale showcased some of that.
WR Cam Coleman (Auburn Football/Twitter)
When Auburn lost three straight games to end the 2023 football season, there was plenty of disappointment to go around.
The Tigers got thoroughly beaten by a Group of Five team at home, lost the Iron Bowl in stunning circumstances and didn’t look competitive in their bowl. Hugh Freeze said several times that, while Auburn was in rebuilding mode, it should have been a better team on the field. Instead, the program suffered its third straight losing season.
But there was one major difference between this time and when Auburn went through a rough losing streak to end Year 1 under a head coach: Freeze and his staff looked much better in the all-important talent acquisition department.
When Auburn was last in that situation, it signed a recruiting class that was outside of the top 20 nationally for the first time since 2009.
This time around, Auburn responded to a tough season with a top-10 class.
On Saturday, the majority of that 2024 signing class made its debut in front of fans at Jordan-Hare Stadium. And the two biggest performances of Auburn’s A-Day spring game were from the highest-rated signee of the class — and a preferred walk-on.
Cam Coleman, the nation’s No. 3 overall recruit for the 2024 class, had four catches for 92 yards and the lone touchdown of the day to become the first-ever true freshman in Auburn history to be named A-Day Offensive MVP.
Coleman’s 34-yard score in the fourth quarter from the arm of returning starting quarterback Payton Thorne showcased his strongest attribute: an ability to come down with the ball in traffic, no matter what.
A few hours later, Coleman — who is still only 17 years old — went back home to Phenix City for his senior prom at Central High School.
“I ain't gonna lie: Usually, I'll be nervous,” Coleman said. “But I was just chilling. I prayed before I went out there and took some deep breaths. Then I went out there and performed.”
Coleman ended his unofficial Auburn debut by joining the mob of players celebrating a 58-yard field goal from Towns McGough. The long-range bomb from McGough got Auburn’s offense to 28 points as time expired, which was enough to overcome the defense’s spotted 27-0 lead.
Like Coleman, McGough had been plenty busy before his big moment. The preferred walk-on from Auburn High hit six other field goals, including another make from nearly 50 yards out, to help out an Auburn offense that couldn’t seem to finish many drives against the defense.
“Being a hometown kid, as soon as I walked off that bus in Tiger Walk, I remember myself being one of those kids, shaking the guys hands,” McGough said. “Being one of those guys today and stepping on that field was a real drop in my heart, just being on the team and getting field goals all day today and helping them win. It was really a dream. It really is.”
A crowd of more than 30,000 fans — Auburn’s largest for a spring game since 2019 — got to see a 2024 Tigers team that is still very much a work in progress. They’ve got weaknesses to address and mistakes to clean up, as you might expect from a program that hasn’t had a winning season in several years.
But Auburn players and coaches feel like this year could be a step back in the right direction, especially with the new additions it has across the roster and the staff.
Things just felt a little different on the Plains on Saturday afternoon. And the Tigers want to keep selling that for what they hope can be a brighter future.
After all, talent acquisition is the name of the game.
“It was such a beautiful day for A-Day,” Freeze said. “Just to stand at the end of the Tiger Walk and welcome all our newcomers and our returnees to Jordan-Hare, which it has got to be special when you walk into this stadium… to see all our cheerleaders, our band and fans to show up for a spring game today just tells you again about the Auburn spirit and the Auburn family, who they really are.
“Lot of great recruits here, so all of that was good last night and this morning. And we'll visit with them some more this afternoon.”
To wrap up spring football on the Plains, here are five big Observations from Auburn’s 2024 A-Day Game, along with the Quote of the Day.