{"id":148368,"date":"2022-12-05T03:14:02","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T03:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/auburn-to-hire-ole-miss-ol-coach-offensive-coordinator-update\/"},"modified":"2022-12-05T03:14:02","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T03:14:02","slug":"auburn-to-hire-ole-miss-ol-coach-offensive-coordinator-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/auburn-to-hire-ole-miss-ol-coach-offensive-coordinator-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Auburn to hire Ole Miss OL coach; offensive coordinator update"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hugh Freeze<\/b> is fishing into his old stomping grounds for an important hire on his inaugural Auburn staff.<\/p>\n

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Freeze is expected to hire Ole Miss offensive line coach Jack Thornton<\/b> to the same role at Auburn, sources informed Auburn Undercover. Inside The Rebels reported Thornton informed his players Sunday afternoon that he’s leaving for Auburn.<\/p>\n

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Thornton spent the past two seasons helping Lane Kiffin<\/b> run a prolific offense. This season, Ole Miss finished the regular season No. 3 nationally in rushing offense. The Rebels allowed only 14 sacks on the year, good for the 19th-fewest in the country, with a pair of freshmen tackles starting 21 combined games. Nick Broeker<\/b> and Mason Brooks<\/b> are expected to be NFL draft picks from Thornton’s offensive line.<\/p>\n

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The Rebels had the SEC’s ball offense last season and a top-15 running game in the country.<\/p>\n

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An all-conference offensive lineman himself at Western Carolina just eight years ago, Thornton quickly entered the coaching business as an off-the-field staffer at his alma mater, followed by his role as an analyst at Alabama in 2017, where he was part of a national championship team. Thornton coached offensive line at Tennessee Tech for two years, followed by one season in 2020 at Gardner-Webb.<\/p>\n

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Thornton fills the void left by Will Friend<\/b>whom Freeze did not retain on his staff after Friend spent the past two seasons as Auburn’s offensive line coach.<\/p>\n

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Thornton may not be the only Ole Miss transplant to join Freeze’s staff. Rebels receivers coach Derrick Nix<\/b>who coached running backs for all five years under Freeze at Ole Miss, is one of the top choices by Freeze to become Auburn’s next offensive coordinator, Auburn Undercover was informed, among several other candidates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n