AUBURN — It’s not a secret Auburn football’s offense left much to be desired in 2023.
The Tigers ranked No. 11 in points scored per game (26.2) in the SEC and their passing attack averaged 162.2 yards a contest, which was good for the worst mark in the conference by nearly 20 yards. In short, the unit was broken. Receivers couldn’t win 50-50 balls, the offensive line struggled with consistency in pass protection and transfer quarterback Payton Thorne didn’t exactly look like he did at Michigan State.
Heading into his second season, coach Hugh Freeze has changed plenty in an attempt to remedy those woes. New offensive coordinator Derrick Nix replaced Philip Montgomery in January, and just two receivers from last season — Camden Brown and Caleb Burton III — remain on the roster. There won’t be a change at QB, but Thorne is getting a full offseason to get acclimated; he arrived late last year and missed spring practice.
It’s to be determined whether or not those changes were enough. If they are, fans will likely see these three stats improve in 2024:
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Yards per attempt
Auburn needs to do a better job of making its pass attempts count. Of the 14 main SEC starting quarterbacks last season, Thorne ranked No. 12 in average yards per throw with a mark of 6.62. That’s narrowly better than what Ken Seals did at Vanderbilt (6.61) and Haynes King at Texas A&M (6.52).
It may not be a Thorne-only issue, though. According to Pro Football Focus, Thorne’s average depth of target last season was 9.1 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. That’s a middle-of-the-pack number in the SEC. Thorne tried to push the ball down the field at times, but for one reason or the other, the Tigers struggled to link…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/3-stats-2023-change-auburn-091021934.html
Author : The Montgomery Advertiser
Publish date : 2024-06-11 09:10:21
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