Newsletter: Auburn, Gundy, James Franklin, and More!
Auburn, Gundy, James Franklin, and More!
April 03, 2025
Good morning, and welcome back to CFB Roundup from CFB Home – the first daily newsletter that’s all college football, all the time with no bias, no slant, and no fluff.
Auburn QB Competition Going Great, Per Hugh Freeze
There is a QB battle happening right now at Auburn between Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold and true freshman Duece Knight.
Coach Hugh Freeze was positive about what he’s seen, sharing:
“The competition is great. I don’t think there’s any replacement for that. Until you get that at every position, I think the natural instinct is for most people to remain status quo somewhat. You got someone breathing down your neck when they’re making plays when they get opportunities, it changes things. That’s what I think we’re seeing with Jackson and Duece. Get Ashton [Daniels] here this summer, and hopefully it adds a third guy to it. Excited to see the competition. We knew that when we got two full recruiting classes here, that would start being the case. I think it’s right.”
Knight was a composite 5-star, ranking as the 25th ranked recruit and 5th ranked QB in the 2025 class, while Arnold started for most of the season for Oklahoma in a season that underwhelmed most Sooners fans. Arnold finished with 1,421 yards with a 62.6% completion percentage and a 12/3 TD-to-INT ratio.
Mike Gundy on NCAA Denying Joint Spring Practices
Source: Oklahoma State University Athletics
The NCAA denied the joint practice concept between Colorado and Syracuse, and Oklahoma State Coach Mike Gundy – who had suggested Bedlam should come back with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State doing a joint spring practice and scrimmage – is unhappy with this decision:
“I mean, I mentioned it the other day, I just thought of the deal with OU. I think it’s a good deal. I would like to do it, I would like to practice against them. I’ll be honest with you, I’m not going to waste my time on who’s going to determine what the rules are anymore. Because, essentially, there’s not really enough of them to follow. And I’m not sure how they have grounds to say you can’t do it. Like if somebody just goes and does it, what are they going to do to them?”
James Franklin on Where QB Drew Allar Can Improve: “Little Bit of Everything”
James Franklin recently shared with On3’s Ari Wasserman and Andy Staples on their podcast what he thinks QB Drew Allar can improve on:
“It’s like a little bit of everything, right? It’s not one thing. I think when you get to the point where we are – top five program the last three years, I’ve won ten or more games every single year. … You’re going to have to get a little bit better in every area, it’s not one specific thing. And I think it’s the same thing with Drew. … I just think that’s the next thing for him to do is continue growing in all those areas. He’s an extremely driven and motivated guy. He wants to be great, he approaches it the right way, both mentally and physically. I think he’s just gonna continue to take steps in the right direction this year.”
UCLA’s DeShaun Foster Shares QB Transfer Joey Aguilar Getting First Team Reps
Appalachian State transfer QB Joey Aguilar is getting first-team reps for UCLA according to Coach DeShaun Foster:
“Experienced quarterback. Has played a lot of football. Just excited to see him take command of the field and just let’s go, let’s take it on. I think that’ll happen once we start getting out here on the field. He was doing a good job when we were doing our walkthroughs and the player-led stuff. You know, now it’s time to really play ball. I mean, [Aguilar’s] gonna go out there first, but it’s always a competition. It’s spring ball. So, everybody will get an opportunity to compete, but like you said, he does have the most experience in the room.”
Right now, the competition is between Aguilar and true freshmen Robert McDaniel and Colton Gumino, with McDaniel being the higher ranked recruit of the two, but both being rated 3-stars.
Fran Brown on His Recruiting Pitch to ‘Cuse ‘Cruits
Source: Syracuse University Athletics
In a recent appearance on The Triple Option, Syracuse Coach Fran Brown shared his philosophy in recruiting players:
“We recruit. Ain’t no other head coach recruit like me. I don’t want to be like, man, I’m just going to recruit you. I’m gonna come and talk to you. Like, I’m gonna hang with you. When you come here, you’re gonna spend time with me. I’m the guy who’s going to talk to you. I tell, listen, I can’t tell you this receivers coach is staying … I can tell you I’m gonna be here. I’m the head football coach. … I’m going to get you locked in on your family to understand what family is more. … I’m guaranteeing you your bachelor’s degree in three years. I’m just not playing around. I know what it is to go without. I know what it is to be really, really hurting. … Everyone talks about ‘he’s a players’ coach.’ No, I’m a locker room coach. I’m in there with them. The same things that they’re doing, I do.”
James Franklin on Transfer Portal Changes to Improve CFB
James Franklin shared recently on Andy & Ari On3 what he thinks the transfer portal should look like for the sake of CFB, aligning with the AFCA’s proposal:
“I think everybody thinks the best model is to have one transfer portal [window] and have it after the Spring. That would allow everybody to get through their season. It’ll allow you to have one academic calendar. and then there’s been some talk about maybe moving Spring football more into the Summer, like the (NFL’s) OTA model. So now your roster is completely set and you can get some practices in leading up to training camp and start getting prepared. … It really should be looked at holistically. Coaches shouldn’t be thinking about it just from their program’s perspective, I think that’s what got us into mess in the first place.”
4-Star LB Storm Miller Commits to Texas A&M
4-star LB Storm Miller committed to Texas A&M yesterday over offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, and others. Miller shared, “Aggie Nation, I’m home.”
Miller is ranked highest by On3, which ranks him as the 258th prospect and 19th ranked LB, while the On3 industry composite has him 323rd nationally and 24th at LB.
With this commitment, this is the 10th Blue Chip commitment and 10th commitment overall for Texas A&M. The Aggies’ class now ranks 5th nationally and 2nd in the SEC behind only LSU.
Washington’s Jedd Fisch Calls RB Adam Mohammed “A Specimen”
RB Adam Mohammed is headed into his 3rd year for the Huskies and his coach has some supremely positive things to say about him: “Adam Mohammed is a specimen. I think that’s made incredible strides but that’s not surprising for me with Adam Mohammed with the way he’s attacking.”
Last season, Mohammed ran for 193 yards on 42 carries.
Sacramento State to File Application for Transition from FCS to FBS
Source: Sacramento State Athletics
Sacramento State is planning to file an application to make the transition from FCS to FBS for football, with intentions of joining the FBS as an independent team. This coincides with an aggressive push from wealthy individuals tied to the program to push Sacramento State into the college football limelight.
Zachariah Branch on Georgia’s Pitch in the Portal
Former USC WR Zachariah Branch committed to Georgia out of the portal less than one week after entering. Of Georgia’s pitch, Branch shared:
“They just felt like I was an explosive player and also a great person off the field that’d be a great fit in the locker room to help encourage certain guys to ultimately reach that goal toward the end of the season. That’s something that they told me, they felt like me and my brother both were great people as well as players. I just felt like I wanted to get a chance to be a part of that tradition and culture at Georgia.”
“A lot of things impacted me to come to Georgia. First and foremost, I’d say the culture that Coach Kirby Smart and the coaching staff have established. I feel like it’s a real brotherhood and not just words. Just to be surrounded by a lot of likeminded players as well, all trying to get toward the