(Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers)AUBURN — Even if the Auburn men’s basketball team wasn’t the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and on its way to its first Sweet 16 in six years, the spring would still feel different on the Plains.Most years, this becomes a time when football takes center stage. But, as part of an ever-changing landscape of transfer portals and revenue-sharing, spring football is being deemphasized all across the country.And Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze wasn’t a big fan of it to begin with, anyway.“It's why I keep lobbying — and I will continue to lobby, probably, until I retire: Do away with spring ball and give us OTAs in June, where we can put pads on there for like 10 days, where you have everybody,” Freeze said Tuesday morning. “… I wish we could just train and do our individual work that we did like in February and then us have some OTAs in June where you have everybody — even after the portal and all that. You really have your whole team.”Before Freeze took the podium on Tuesday, following Auburn’s first full-pads practice of the year, the program already sent out a signal that things were changing.Auburn won’t have a traditional spring game this year. Instead, on April 12, Auburn will hold an open practice at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It won’t be televised, but admission will be free. There will also be a Tiger Walk and a postgame autograph session. “The days of a spring game where you're televising that and the portal opens the next week, that doesn't make much sense,” Freeze said. “I think those days are kind of over. And we went down the list of all the injured guys for us. Trying to divide up and have some kind of spring game just doesn't make as much sense as us doing what we did today. We'll have some live periods, but it'll be more of a practice format.”Get 33% off for 1 yearYes, Auburn is missing a handful of players — including some projected starters — as spring ball gets ramped up here in the month of March. That’s going to naturally limit the amount of relevant takeaways from the next few weeks of practices, especially for a program coached by someone who wants to modernize the whole offseason.But it’s still football practice, and it’s football practice for a team desperate to end its historically rough streak of losing seasons. That’s always going to matter in Auburn.“We need to play better, and we need to win some games, for sure,” Freeze said. “… I love our kids right now. I love our approach, I love our staff. I think there's confidence in the building, and it's growing.”Before we get back to basketball duty later Tuesday, when Bruce Pearl and the Tigers return to the court, here are some No-Huddle Notes on all we heard and saw from an extended viewing window of spring practice and Freeze’s press conference.Let’s start with the injury report, as Auburn is more banged-up than usual during spring practices. There are nine players who are either completely out or heavily limited in practice right now:DE Keldric FaulkLB DeMarcus RiddickC Connor LewOT Xavier ChaplinDB JC HartDB Champ AnthonyRB Durell RobinsonWR Bryce CainTE Hollis DavidsonMost of those players, like Faulk and Chaplin, are recovering from offseason surgeries and are expected to be back in plenty of time for the fall. Anthony is still on the road to recovery from his gruesome leg injury last season, but he spoke with reporters Monday. Cain is currently missing time with a hamstring issue. Freeze: “There are some guys we're depending on that we're going to be without for pretty much all of spring. I wish that wasn't the case, but every year you're going to have these surgeries in January or February from the season, and then you're without those guys. … That is what is is, but we'll do the best we can getting them ready when they get back.”With Ashton Daniels not arriving until later this offseason, Auburn has just two scholarship quarterbacks right now: Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold and 5-star freshman Deuce Knight. Because of that, Arnold and Knight are getting plenty of throws in practices. And, while we’re on the subject of quarterbacks…

(Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers) Before Freeze took the podium on Tuesday, following Auburn’s first full-pads practice of the year, the program already sent out a signal that things were changing.Before we get back to basketball duty later Tuesday, when Bruce Pearl and the Tigers return to the court, here are some No-Huddle Notes on all we […]

Before Freeze took the podium on Tuesday, following Auburn’s first full-pads practice of the year, the program already sent out a signal that things were changing.Before we get back to basketball duty later Tuesday, when Bruce Pearl and the Tigers return to the court, here are some No-Huddle Notes on all we heard and saw from an extended viewing window of spring practice and Freeze’s press conference.Get 33% off for 1 yearBut it’s still football practice, and it’s football practice for a team desperate to end its historically rough streak of losing seasons. That’s always going to matter in Auburn.Most of those players, like Faulk and Chaplin, are recovering from offseason surgeries and are expected to be back in plenty of time for the fall. Anthony is still on the road to recovery from his gruesome leg injury last season, but he spoke with reporters Monday. Cain is currently missing time with a hamstring issue. C Connor Lew“The days of a spring game where you’re televising that and the portal opens the next week, that doesn’t make much sense,” Freeze said. “I think those days are kind of over. And we went down the list of all the injured guys for us. Trying to divide up and have some kind of spring game just doesn’t make as much sense as us doing what we did today. We’ll have some live periods, but it’ll be more of a practice format.”Auburn won’t have a traditional spring game this year. Instead, on April 12, Auburn will hold an open practice at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It won’t be televised, but admission will be free. There will also be a Tiger Walk and a postgame autograph session. DB Champ AnthonyDB JC HartLet’s start with the injury report, as Auburn is more banged-up than usual during spring practices. There are nine players who are either completely out or heavily limited in practice right now:LB DeMarcus Riddick“It’s why I keep lobbying — and I will continue to lobby, probably, until I retire: Do away with spring ball and give us OTAs in June, where we can put pads on there for like 10 days, where you have everybody,” Freeze said Tuesday morning. “… I wish we could just train and do our individual work that we did like in February and then us have some OTAs in June where you have everybody — even after the portal and all that. You really have your whole team.”

WR Bryce Cain
- RB Durell Robinson
- TE Hollis Davidson
- AUBURN — Even if the Auburn men’s basketball team wasn’t the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and on its way to its first Sweet 16 in six years, the spring would still feel different on the Plains.
- With Ashton Daniels not arriving until later this offseason, Auburn has just two scholarship quarterbacks right now: Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold and 5-star freshman Deuce Knight. Because of that, Arnold and Knight are getting plenty of throws in practices. And, while we’re on the subject of quarterbacks…
- Freeze: “There are some guys we’re depending on that we’re going to be without for pretty much all of spring. I wish that wasn’t the case, but every year you’re going to have these surgeries in January or February from the season, and then you’re without those guys. … That is what is is, but we’ll do the best we can getting them ready when they get back.”
- DE Keldric Faulk
- And Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze wasn’t a big fan of it to begin with, anyway.
- Yes, Auburn is missing a handful of players — including some projected starters — as spring ball gets ramped up here in the month of March.
- That’s going to naturally limit the amount of relevant takeaways from the next few weeks of practices, especially for a program coached by someone who wants to modernize the whole offseason.
OT Xavier Chaplin
“We need to play better, and we need to win some games, for sure,” Freeze said. “… I love our kids right now. I love our approach, I love our staff. I think there’s confidence in the building, and it’s growing.”
Most years, this becomes a time when football takes center stage. But, as part of an ever-changing landscape of transfer portals and revenue-sharing, spring football is being deemphasized all across the country.

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