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2022 PRESEASON MAXWELL AWARD WATCH LIST: Payton Thorne, Michigan State,... Quarterback Payton Thorne (now 6-2, 210) was redshirted his first year at Michigan State in 2019. Then, in 2020, he played in four games as a backup to Rocky Lombardi and made one start. In his first career start against Penn State he passed for 325 yards and three touchdowns. For the season, he completed 48 of 85 passes for 582 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Thorne was named the Spartans starter to open 2021 and came up big with record-setting season in his first year as the starting quarterback, collecting an 11-2 record and leading Michigan State to a No. 8/9 national ranking and a win in the New Year's Six with a 31-21 victory over No. 12 Pitt in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

Set the MSU single-season record for most TD passes with 27, surpassing Kirk Cousins, who had 25 in 2011...also ranked among MSU's single-season leaders in total offense (third with 3,414 yards), passing yards (third with 3,233), passing yards per game (third with 248.7), passing efficiency (sixth with 148.1 rating), pass completions (tied for sixth with 234) and pass attempts (seventh with 388)...was 234-of-388 passing (.603) for 3,233 yards, 27 TDs and 10 interceptions...also ran for four touchdowns and had 181 net yards rushing on 82 attempts. - Michigan State Football

(DS#27 QB) rSr/2025

QB Payton Thorne, Auburn
News Source: Michigan State Football
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07/20/22 - Payton Thorne, rSr/2025, Auburn, 6-2, 207 (DS#27 QB) + More +

2022 PRESEASON DAVEY O'BRIEN NATIONAL QUARTERBACK AWARD WATCH LIST: Payton Thorne, Michigan State, Jr., 6-2, 210, Naperville, Ill.,...After a record-setting season in his first year as the starting quarterback, Thorne is back for the Spartans in 2022. Thorne set a school single-season record with 27 touchdown passes in 2021, surpassing Kirk Cousins, who previously held the record with 25 TDs in 2011. Thorne also ranked among MSU's single-season leaders in total offense (third with 3,414 yards), passing yards (third with 3,233), passing yards per game (third with 248.7), passing efficiency (sixth with 148.1 rating), pass completions (tied for sixth with 234) and pass attempts (seventh with 388). Overall in his first year as the starting quarterback, Thorne was 234-of-388 passing (.603) for 3,233 yards, 27 TDs and 10 interceptions. - Michigan State Football

(DS#27 QB) rSr/2025

QB Payton Thorne, Auburn
News Source: Michigan State Football
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07/18/22 - *Tank Bigsby, Jr/2023, Auburn, 6-0, 215 (DS#8 RB) + More +

2022 PRESEASON MAXWELL AWARD WATCH LIST: Tank Bigsby, Auburn,...The SEC freshman of the year in 2020, Bigsby rushed for 1,099 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2021. Bigsby began the 2021 season with three consecutive 100-yard games, adding two more with 140 rushing yards vs. Ole Miss and 164 vs. South Carolina. In two seasons on the Plains, the 6-0, 213-pounder has rushed for 1,933 yards and 15 touchdowns to rank No. 20 in Auburn career rushing. - Auburn Football

(DS#8 RB) Jr/2023

RB *Tank Bigsby, Auburn
News Source: Auburn Football
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07/17/22 - Brian Battie, rSr/2025, Auburn, 5-06, 168 (DS#999 RB) + More +

2022 WALTER CAMP PRESEASON FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICAN: KR Brian Battie (South Florida),..In 2021, named a 2021 NCAA Consensus All-American, becoming just the second in program history and first since defensive end George Selvie earned the elite recognition in 2007... first team All-America selection from Walter Camp and FWAA, two of the five major selectors... six first team All-America selections (Walter Camp, FWAA, Phil Steele, Action Network, Bleacher Report, Pro Football Network) and three second team (Sporting News, Pro Football Focus, CBS/247 Sports) as a standout kick returner...nine total All-America selections are tied with Selvie for the most ever garnered in one season by a Bull...FWAA Freshman All-America Team selection...posted a record-setting season that saw the Bay area native lead the nation with three kickoff returns for touchdowns, tie an NCAA game record with two 100-yard returns in the same game and break the Bulls' season return average record...first team all-conference selection from Phil Steele.

Broke the Bulls' 18-year-old season kick return average record set by J.R. Reed in 2003 (31.7)....Named the American Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week twice on the 2021 season ...had an NCAA record-tying performance vs. Houston (11/6) with two 100-yard kickoff returns in the game... joined Utah's Reggie Dunn (vs. Cal in 2012) as the only two players in NCAA history to post two 100-yard kickoff returns in the same game, part of three touchdowns and 236 all-purpose yards in the game...also scored on a 29-yard touchdown run and his 208 kickoff return yards in the game rank second all-time at USF behind Terrence Horne's 264 vs. Georgia Tech in 2018...posted a 100-yard return vs. Tulsa (10/16) and finished the season with three, one behind Dunn's NCAA record of four posted in the 2012 season - South Florida Football

(DS#999 RB) rSr/2025

RB Brian Battie, Auburn
News Source: South Florida Football
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07/14/22 - Derick Hall, Sr/2023, Auburn, 6-3, 254 (DS#5 OLB) + More +

Auburn football has its trio of representatives at next week's Southeastern Conference Media Days in Atlanta, the SEC announced Tuesday, as running back Tank Bigsby, edge rusher Derick Hall and tight end John Samuel Shenker will make the trip east. All three will be first-time attendees, as former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix and linebacker Owen Pappoe attended for the Tigers a year ago. A year ago, Hall led the Tigers in both tackles for loss (12.5) and sacks (9), combining with Eku Leota for 22 tackles for loss and 16 sacks, marking one of the more productive pass-rushing duos in recent memory on the Plains. - Opelika-Auburn News

(DS#5 OLB) Sr/2023

OLB Derick Hall, Auburn
News Source: Opelika-Auburn News
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07/14/22 - *Tank Bigsby, Jr/2023, Auburn, 6-0, 215 (DS#8 RB) + More +

Tank Bigsby has been Auburn's best offensive weapon during each of his first two seasons on the Plains. Now, heading into Year 3, Bigsby finds himself as the fulcrum of Auburn's revamped offense - and at No. 2 in AL.com's countdown of the 10 most valuable Auburn players heading into the season. The 6-foot, 213-pound running back is expected to be the focal point of Auburn's offense this season - the foundation upon which first-year offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau's system is built - as he tries to build off his 1,000-yard campaign in 2021. Bigsby has been as-advertised during his first two seasons at Auburn, first rushing for 834 (while averaging 6.05 yards per carry) while being named the SEC Freshman of the Year during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, then following it up with 1,099 yards and 10 touchdowns (on 4.93 yards per carry) last fall.

Bigsby became the first Auburn running back to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in a season since Kerryon Johnson in 2017, and now he'll have a chance to be the first Tigers running back since Tre Mason in 2012-13 to post back-to-back such seasons. More than just replicating his success from the last two years, though, Bigsby will be counted on as a key component of Auburn's run-first philosophy, as Kiesau and second-year head coach Bryan Harsin try to optimize the junior's elite-level skillset and build the Tigers' offense around him. - Birmingham News

(DS#8 RB) Jr/2023

RB *Tank Bigsby, Auburn
News Source: Birmingham News
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07/13/22 - Derick Hall, Sr/2023, Auburn, 6-3, 254 (DS#5 OLB) + More +

Derick Hall enters the 2022 season with lots of acclaim for his previous success on the gridiron. He was named to the 76th AL.com/The Birmingham News All-SEC Preseason 1st team. Auburn's hopes of bouncing back from last season will partially rest on Hall and his bookend Eku Leota making life tough on opposing quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference.

Hall posted 54 tackles, 34 solos, 12.5 tackles for loss, and nine sacks last season for the Tigers. Hall anchors a defensive line that expects to be a bruising unit. "Really just getting better. Coming in day in and day out, pushing the younger guys, really working on bringing somebody along because when I leave, somebody's going to have to step into that role," Hall told reporters during spring practice. Trying to get better day in and day out, whether pass rush, run block, hands placement - little stuff that helps take you to the next level is the stuff I'm working on every day." - Birmingham News

(DS#5 OLB) Sr/2023

OLB Derick Hall, Auburn
News Source: Birmingham News
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07/12/22 - Owen Pappoe, Sr/2023, Auburn, 6-0, 225 (DS#5 ILB) + More +

Perhaps no one in the Tigers facility other than head coach Bryan Harsin is seeking a redemptive 2022 campaign more than Owen Pappoe. The Senior linebacker entered the 2021 season with high hopes for a marriage of team and individual success leading him to become a high-round draft pick. Pappoe started in his first game as a freshman in 2019 against Oregon at Jordan Hare. He started every game he played in until getting injured against Penn State in a road loss last season. Pappoe had 49 tackles and two sacks in 2019 as a freshman. He followed the solid freshman season in 2020 with four sacks and 93 tackles. He also entered the 2021 season as an All-SEC selection. Alas, the injury derailed Pappoe's season in a way that mirrored the final five games for the Tigers.

Pappoe was limited in spring football because of the ailment but was actively engaged with the team. He should be a full participant this fall. "Owen, yeah, he is not practicing now, but in the long run, that is going to be the best thing because they are getting those things fixed," defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding said. There's a guy who is not practicing, but is as locked-in and diligent about everything he does as I have seen." "He takes care of his body. It is an opportunity to lead in a little different way than maybe he wants to, but he is a kid who is learning the game even as he is watching. A lot of guys can't do that. He does that." - Birmingham News

(DS#5 ILB) Sr/2023

ILB Owen Pappoe, Auburn
News Source: Birmingham News
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07/12/22 - *Colby Wooden, Jr/2023, Auburn, 6-4, 278 (DS#16 DE) + More +

Colby Wooden could have declared for the NFL Draft this offseason, but he instead decided to return to Auburn for his redshirt junior year. That was one of the biggest wins of the offseason for Bryan Harsin's program, as the 6-foot-5, 284-pound defensive lineman checks in at No. 4 on AL.com's MVP 10 list heading into 2022. Wooden was a force along the line for Auburn last season, posting career-highs in tackles (61), sacks (five) and quarterback hurries (seven). His 8.5 tackles for loss were one off his career-best from 2020 (9.5) and are third-most among Auburn's returning players this fall, behind only edge-rushers Derick Hall (12.5 in 2021) and Eku Leota (10).

Wooden will aim to build off those numbers as a junior this fall as he anchors what should be a stout unit along the defensive line - a group that returns Hall and Leota on the edge, as well as Marcus Harris and other promising depth pieces while adding the likes of Jayson Jones, Jeffrey M'Ba, Marcus Bragg and Morris Joseph Jr. After flourishing in a new role in 2021, Wooden should bring All-SEC potential to the interior of Auburn's defensive line - and if his trajectory continues into 2022, it could be a harbinger of just how good the Tigers' defensive front can be this season under new defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding. - Birmingham News

(DS#16 DE) Jr/2023

DE *Colby Wooden, Auburn
News Source: Birmingham News
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07/11/22 - *Tank Bigsby, Jr/2023, Auburn, 6-0, 215 (DS#8 RB) + More +

A month out from the start of Auburn football's fall camp, and preseason accolades and outlooks have already begun to roll in. In June, both Athlon and Phil Steele named multiple Tigers to their preseason All-SEC teams. Auburn had nine players on the Athlon preseason All-SEC teams, with running back Tank Bigsby and defensive lineman Derick Hall named first team All-SEC. Bigsby is coming off a sophomore season in which he rushed for 1,099 yards, leading Auburn in that category and posting the fourth-most rush yards in the SEC.

He also had the eighth-most all-purpose yards in the conference with 1,286. "I'm looking for big things out of Tank," Auburn running backs coach Cadillac Williams said of Bigsby during spring practices. "The kid has had a really good spring. He's working hard. His practice habits are getting a lot better. He slowly but surely is starting to get the whole, big picture." With Auburn losing two of its top three receivers from a season ago in Kobe Hudson and Demetris Robinson, as well as trying to replace former starting quarterback Bo Nix, it's largely expected that the Tigers will emphasize the run this year and that Bigsby will take a larger role in the offense. "I can do a lot of things," Bigsby said following Auburn's A-Day game. "Coach Harsin's got me everywhere. You know, got me in the slot receiver, running back- he's got me just doing everything. He wants to get me the ball in the open field and do what I have to do." - Opelika-Auburn News

(DS#8 RB) Jr/2023

RB *Tank Bigsby, Auburn
News Source: Opelika-Auburn News
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07/11/22 - Nehemiah Pritchett, rSr/2024, Auburn, 6-0, 190 (DS#22 CB) + More +

Auburn's All-America cornerback is out the door, now with the Tennessee Titans after being picked in the second round of the NFL Draft. Roger McCreary's departure after being a stalwart cover corner for the Tigers has left a hole in Auburn's secondary - but that's nothing new for a program that has had a run of successful cornerbacks over the last several years. No. 6 in AL.com's MVP 10 countdown could be the next in that lineage: senior corner Nehemiah Pritchett. The 6-foot-1, 182-pounder has been a contributor in Auburn's secondary since his freshman season, and after starting eight games opposite McCreary last fall, Pritchett could be tasked with stepping into a starring role this season.

It's an assignment Pritchett, as well as his coaches, believes he's well-suited for. "He is one of those guys that, when you went down there toward the end when they were doing the maxes (in the weight room in the winter), like he was a different person," defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding said. "I mean, there's no question about his speed. He can run. But to be a complete football player, having some more of that body armor and things like that - and I also see the confidence. He's not a real loud type of player off the field, but he is one of our guys in our leadership group on defense. He's stepped into that role. We expect a lot out of him. "...And I think he's going to be a more complete player. He can certainly cover and certainly run. But I like what we see with his effort and his opportunity for some leadership in that, too." - Birmingham News

(DS#22 CB) rSr/2024

CB Nehemiah Pritchett, Auburn
News Source: Birmingham News
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07/09/22 - Nick Brahms, rSr/2023, Auburn, 6-3, 300 (DS#999 C) + More +

Auburn wants to win games by running the ball to set up the run. Succeeding with an old-school approach starts with the offensive line-last season when healthy Nick Brahms was a stalwart for the Tigers as their center. However, too often, the line battled injuries and inconsistency. Brahms enters the list at number seven because he knows the offense and is battle-tested in the Southeastern Conference. Head coach Bryan Harsin can't afford another stressful season in his second year. Auburn has to win. Victories become easier when an experienced center anchors the offensive line.

A good center is always vital. It matters even more for Auburn since Bo Nix left the Plains to become a QB for the Oregon Ducks. Brahms returns for a sixth season. He redshirted as a four-star prospect out of Navarre, Florida, in 2017 and became the starter the following season. Brahms missed the Birmingham Bowl with a knee injury that required surgery. He also was a limited participant in spring football, which allowed Jalil Irvin to get valuable reps at center. Brahms was the fourth senior to proclaim his return to Auburn for a super-senior campaign. He capitalized on the NCAA's extra year of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic. - Birmingham News

(DS#999 C) rSr/2023

C Nick Brahms, Auburn
News Source: Birmingham News
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07/08/22 - Zion Puckett, rSr/2024, Auburn, 5-11, 213 (DS#53 SS) + More +

The back end of Auburn's defense has undergone some changes since the end of last season. Gone is safety mainstay Smoke Monday, as well as All-America cornerback Roger McCreary. So, too, are on-and-off starters Bydarrius Knighten and Ladarius Tennison-as well as former defensive coordinator Derek Mason, who oversaw the Tigers' safeties. A key returning piece to the secondary, though, is junior safety Zion Puckett, who enters the 2022 season with some lofty expectations. Originally a four-star prospect in Auburn's 2019 class, Puckett is one of the few blue-chip prospects from that group - along with Owen Pappoe, Keiondre Jones, Derick Hall, Jaylin Simpson, Colby Wooden and Ja'Varrius Johnson - who has remained on the Plains.

Puckett's journey to this point hasn't been without its setbacks; his first two seasons at Auburn were beset by injuries. He redshirted while appearing in four games as a true freshman and then served as a backup at nickel during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. As a junior, though, Puckett started to come into his own. He started nine of the 10 games he appeared in last season, slotting in at safety alongside the veteran Monday, and finished the season with 48 tackles. A career-high 10 of those came against eventual-national champion Georgia last October. While Puckett missed three games late in the season and was limited this spring while recovering from injury, Auburn has placed some high hopes on his shoulders heading into the fall, when he could be tasked with taking over as the quarterback of the Tigers' secondary now that Monday is gone. - Birmingham News

(DS#53 SS) rSr/2024

SS Zion Puckett, Auburn
News Source: Birmingham News
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07/07/22 - John Samuel Shenker, rSr/2023, Auburn, 6-3, 242 (DS#39 TE) + More +

Auburn lost two of its top-three receivers from last season following the departures of Kobe Hudson (dismissed before transferring to UCF) and Demetris Robertson (exhausted eligibility), and while the team returns second-leading receiver Shedrick Jackson for a super-senior season, arguably the most important target in the passing game is another super senior: tight end John Samuel Shenker. The sixth-year senior is coming off a record-setting season at the position for Auburn, as he set the program's single-season record for receptions (33) and receiving yards (413) by a tight end.

He became the first tight end in school history to record a 30-catch, 400-yard season, and his 2021 campaign was the most impactful by a tight end on the Plains since C.J. Uzomah in 2014 (Uzomah, who had 11 catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns that season was the last tight end to finish a season with double-digit receptions for Auburn). The one thing missing from Shenker's campaign was the end zone, as he did not score a touchdown in 2021, but the 6-foot-4, 250-pounder still managed to set the bar for tight ends at Auburn. After a New Year's Day announcement that he'd return for the free year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the pandemic, Shenker will try to raise that bar this season as the tight end position continues to evolve within Auburn's offense. - Birmingham News

(DS#39 TE) rSr/2023

TE John Samuel Shenker, Auburn
News Source: Birmingham News
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06/20/22 - Marcus Bragg, rSr/2023, Auburn, 6-4, 237 (DS#80 DE) + More +

Auburn football isn't done adding to its 2022 roster. Marcus Bragg announced his plans to attend the Plains after a visit on Sunday morning. The redshirt senior will have one year of eligibility remaining and bring a boost to Auburn's edge-rushing unit. Bragg is originally from Florida and committed to Mississippi Delta Community College out of high school. He recorded a pair of sacks in two years before spending the last three seasons at Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers used the 6-foot-4, 260-pounder as a pass rusher.

Bragg earned the most playing time he'd had in his career in 2021. In 14 games, he tallied 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble and 26 total tackles. He'll be Auburn's fourth scholarship edge player and expected to be a key rotational piece behind Derick Hall (a coach's All-SEC second-team selection) and Eku Leota (7.0 sacks). "I chose Auburn because it best fits my athletic abilities on the field," Bragg said to Auburn Live's Jeffrey Lee, who had the news first. "And I will be able to make a lot of plays because of the defensive scheme." - Birmingham News

(DS#80 DE) rSr/2023

DE Marcus Bragg, Auburn
News Source: Birmingham News
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