Auburn vs. UMass: Six Minutemen to know
The Auburn Tigers are set to start their 2023 campaign on Saturday when they host the UMass Minutemen (1-0) in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
UMass is led by head coach Don Brown who is in his second tenure with the program. He coached them from 2004-08 before leaving to become a defensive coordinator at Maryland. He spent time at Michigan and Arizona before making his return ahead of the 2022 season.
The Minutemen looked to have improved from a rough first season when they went 1-11 but suffered some competitive losses. They beat New Mexico State 41-30 to open the 2023 season and gave Auburn some film to study. That film was revealing to Hugh Freeze, who faced them last season as the head coach at Liberty.
“Well, I played them every year,” Freeze said on Monday. “I saw a drastic improvement last year under Coach (Don) Brown. I have great respect for him. I think he is one of the best defensive play callers in the country. Last year their record was atrocious, and they had a top 10 defense in the country. Now they have added 27 transfers, most from Power 5 schools. I thought they looked quite different. New Mexico State is not an easy place to go play, and they took care of the football and did not turn it over. They got turnovers. They capitalized on turnovers. They threw the ball effectively, which they have not done in four years that I’ve played them. I think defensively they play just as hard as any team in the country, and you combine that with Coach Brown’s systems, which are very chaotic and very hard to identify where your offense is at times. They will create negative plays with that. That was a big challenge for us last year when we played them up at UMass. They created a lot of negative plays against us. We managed to score enough points to win the game, but it was a challenge. They have our full attention.”
They were led by transfer quarterback Taisun Phommachanh who is capable of hurting Auburn through the air as well as when he tucks the ball and runs. Phommachanh is one of six Minutemen that you need to know ahead of the game and here is a look at these key players.
QB Taisun Phommachanh
UMass is Phommachanh’s third program after he started his career at Clemson before heading to Georgia Tech. He was a four-star prospect and gives the Minutemen a talented quarterback as they try to pull off the upset. He did it all in their week zero win over New Mexico State, completing 10-of-17 passes for 192 yards as well as rushing for 96 yards and one touchdown.
LB Gerrell Johnson
Johnson is their top returning tackler and has made 120 tackles over the past two seasons and will be a key member in the middle of their defense. He is a veteran in the defense and will help to get all of their transfer additions on the same page.
RB Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams
Lynch-Adams is looking to form a dynamic two-man rushing attack with Phommachanh and he did just that last week. Lynch-Adams finished the day with 15 carries for 79 yards and two scores. Auburn’s rush defense will look to keep the duo bottled up and it will be a good test to start the season.
CB Jordan Mahoney
Mahoney will be a tough matchup for Auburn’s new wide receivers. He snagged three interceptions last season and is perfectly comfortable lining up in man coverage, something he does a lot in Brown’s scheme. If UMass is able to turn Auburn over, Mahoney will likely be involved.
WR George Johnson III
Johnson does not have a ton of targets but he tends to make the most of his receptions. He averaged 14.4 yards per catch last season and is their big-play threat. He caught one pass for 22 yards last week and will look to try and take the top off Auburn’s defense.
DE Marcus Bradley
Bradley is entering his second season with the Minutemen after transferring in from Vanderbilt. He is looking to take another step after making an immediate impact last year, recording 26 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He will test Auburn’s new-look offensive line that will feature at least three transfers starting.
