As college football training camps continue to march on around the country, we begin to narrow our focus on the last three remaining programs on our list of the most impressive new staffs in college football.
The previous places on our list are occupied by Charlotte (#10), Western Michigan (#9), Liberty (#8), USF (#7), Colorado (#6), Purdue (#5), and Nebraska (#4).
Coming in at number three is the staff Hugh Freeze has put together at Auburn.
COORDINATOR RECAP
Ron Roberts spent the last few seasons running the defense at Baylor before he and Dave Aranda parted ways after a disappointing 6-6 finish in Waco back in early December.
A widely respected defensive mind, Roberts wasn't on the market for long, as Auburn and Freeze formally announced his addition two weeks later.
To run the offense, Freeze hired former Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery, who went 43-54 in eight seasons leading the Golden Hurricane before the two parted ways this off season after a 5-7 finish.
Montgomery previously coordinated some of the top offenses in college football for Art Briles at Houston and Baylor before landing the Tulsa job.
BIGGEST HIRE
I think one of the most intriguing scheme storylines in college football is what the Auburn offense will look like with the combination of Freeze and Montgomery.
One thing is certain - the new-look Auburn offense will definitely push the tempo.
Freeze has had explosive and efficient offenses wherever he has been, and Montgomery's best offenses have stretched the field vertically about as good as any college football teams in recent memory with gap scheme runs dominating on the ground.
How Freeze and Montgomery combine their offensive genius is going to be something worth keeping an eye on, because the potential for fireworks is sky high, and we profiled Montgomery's hire as one of the most important assistant coaching hires (#11) last week.
The rest of the offensive staff consists of Carnell Williams (Associate HC / RBs), Ben Aigamaua (TEs), Marcus Davis (WRs), and Jake Thornton (OL).
BIGGEST CHALLENGE AHEAD
The SEC was once known as a dominant defensive league, but that dynamic has shifted considerably in recent years.
Tennessee led the nation in scoring offense last year, and the SEC put two other teams (Georgia at #4 and Alabama at #5) in the top ten.
To win, and compete for national titles like their fan base expects, Ron Roberts and Auburn are going to have to get the defense to play at a higher level than the previous staff, as the offensive gauntlet of the SEC West should be upgraded in a number of areas.
LSU will be in year two under Brian Kelly, and people are already talking College Football Playoff potential for the Tigers, and Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss always seem to put up 30+.
Mississippi State and Zach Arnett brought in Kevin Barbay from Appalachian State this past season and he brings an offense that gave a star-studded roster at Texas A&M all kinds of fits in their upset of the Aggies.
Then you've got the combination of Jimbo Fisher and Bobby Petrino in College Station that no one is quite sure how the dynamic is going to work, but if they get it dialed it could be really dangerous.
Roberts is joined on the defensive side of the ball by Josh Aldridge (LBs), Zach Etheridge (safeties), Jeremy Garrett (DL), and Wesley McGriff (CBs)
Bottom line is Auburn ranked 97th nationally in scoring defense last year under Bryan Harsin, giving up nearly 30 points per game. I think they need to rank in the top 50 or so in year one to win 8 games and the type of national championship trajectory that fans are expecting in short order.
UNDERRATED HIRE
Kent Austin spent last season in a co-coordinator and quarterbacks coach role for Hugh Freeze at Liberty, and joined him on The Plains in a Special Assistant to the Head Coach - Quality Control role.
Austin has experience as a coordinator in the SEC (2008-09 at Ole Miss), and also has head coaching experience in the CFL (Saskatchewan Roughriders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and in the Ivy League at Cornell (FCS - NY).
That quality experience in a key role as a right hand guy will be invaluable for Freeze in his SEC 2.0 go-round.
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