Auburn football receiver Camden Brown hopes up-tempo offense can help 'flip the script'

AUBURN — Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze has been candid throughout spring practice.

Whether it's accessing his quarterbacks or discussing his interest in acquiring players via the transfer portal, he's rarely pulled punches. And on Monday, he locked onto his wide receivers.

“Not as much as I would like," Freeze said when asked if his pass-catchers were progressing well. "... We’ve still got some improving to do on alignment and assignment. And technique, of course."

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Auburn returns the majority of its receivers from a season ago, but not one was able to produce more than 500 yards in 2022. Even Nick Mardner, who has transferred to the Tigers from Cincinnati, only posted 218 yards with the Bearcats.

Whether the lack of production from Auburn's receivers was an issue related to talent or former coach Bryan Harsin's scheme − or both − remains to be seen. A better picture will be painted this season, with Freeze and offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery combining to create a more up-tempo, RPO-based offense.

"I’m not going to lie, it brings me back to St. Thomas (Aquinas High in Florida) with (coach) Roger Harriott and (offensive coordinator) Wes Carroll, going back to the fast stuff," sophomore receiver Camden Brown said Wednesday. "I remember last year, I had never been in like a huddle before. It was kind of weird because it was slowing down my play."

Brown, who hauled in nine passes for 123 yards with two touchdowns as a freshman, is hoping speed remains a staple of the offense. He's also hopeful that element can assist the Tigers in "changing the narrative."

Over the last couple of months, the official Auburn football Twitter account has been posting videos featuring Freeze attempting to motivate his players with different sayings. One was "Eat the Frog." Another was "Fly the Kite."

Brown's personal favorite, though, is "Flip the Script."

"That's about changing the narrative," he said. "... We've got to change the narrative with the quarterback situation, with the receiver situation, the O-line situation. We've all got to change the narrative around everything.

"Changing the narrative is the main topic right now."

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: WR Camden Brown likes new up-tempo offense