It’s Blogle here. Everybody give a lackluster welcome to a new contributor, beAU. He’s @beAUmightknow on the bird app. He thinks he knows football, so I’m going to try and let him write something here. I have no idea why, but let’s just see how it goes.
Back like we never left! We are three days away from kickoff here on the Plains. We will see our Auburn Tigers kickoff the new era under Bryan Harsin Saturday at 6:00. We are officially through talking season. No more clickbait articles from Joseph BADman. No more “hot takes”, and the best of all, time for bad takes to get exposed. You came here for the substance, the true Blogle substance. With that said, let’s take a dive into this Auburn depth chart.
QB
10 Bo Nix (6-3, 214lbs Jr)
1 T.J Finley (6-7, 246lbs So)
QB controversy or “this is the year?” Well, that depends on who you ask. Personally, I don’t think the QB race was as ever close as some made it seem. What I do know is this may be the deepest QB room Auburn has had in several years. Dare I say quality depth? Finley definitely looks the part. My little eyes tell me Davis at that 3rd QB spot has shown flashes as well. Let there be no doubt, this season’s success rides on #10.
RB
4 Tank Bigsby (6-0, 208lbs So)
8 Shaun Shivers (5-7, 189lbs Sr)
The RB room is a lot thinner than we are used to seeing on the plains. In a room that could very easily read (Bigsby, Shivers, Richards, Joiner, Whitlow etc.etc) now only consists of three names. Settle down though, #4 is a bad man. Tank Bigsby is the best running back in the SEC. If he stays healthy, 1,300+ yards should be a cake walk. Don’t sleep on Iron Bowl legend Shaun Shivers. He will literally decapitate you.
TE
47 John Samuel Shenker (6-4, 249lbs Sr)
86 Luke Deal (6-5, 255lbs So) OR
85 Tyler Fromm (6-5 240lbs So)
“Hey Siri, what is a TE?” It will be refreshing to see such an underutilized position in the Gus Malzahn Era revitalized. There are many cooks in the TE kitchen. Recruiting is also putting an emphasis on position. You could see as many as four or five kids rotating at TE to start the season off until Harsin hones in on exactly what he wants to see.
WR
11 Shedrick Jackson (6-2, 196lbs Sr)
6 Ja’varrius Johnson (5-10, 159lbs, So)
0 Demetris Robertson (6-0, 185lbs Sr)
80 Ze’vian Capers (6-4, 195lbs, So)
3 Ta’varish Dawson Jr (5-10, 161lbs Fr)
5 Kobe Hudson (6-1, 199lbs So)
16 Malcolm Johnson Jr (6-1, 195lbs So)
This is the most intriguing position from a depth chart perspective. A few names we thought we would see aren’t listed while a few we wouldn’t think we’d see are starting. This is the one position I wouldn’t look too deep into. These guys will play X,Y,Z,P,D, and Q. The WR positions will truly be up for grabs during these first two game to define who the “guys” are. On a sidenote, I heard if you line up a Punter at X you can slay giants.
LT
68 Austin Troxell (6-7, 305lbs Sr)
77 Killian Zierer (6-7, 298lbs Jr)
LG
71 Brandon Council (6-4, 335lbs Sr) OR
65 Alec Jackson (6-5, 323lbs Sr)
C
52Nick Brahms (6-4, 302lbs Sr)
50 Jalil Irvin (6-3, 319lbs Jr)
RG
58 Keiondre Jones (6-4, 345lbs So) OR
56 Tashawn Manning (6-4, 335lbs Sr)
RT
59 Brodarious Hamm (6-6, 334lbs Sr)
55 Brendon Coffey (6-7, 292lbs Sr)
It all starts up front. Have we recruited well at the position the past several years? Absolutely not. BUT, this unit quietly returns the most starts in the SEC. Anchored by Nick Brahms I expect this unit to make a massive jump from last season. What does Auburn have to do to win 9+ games? This unit has to click. There will be some shuffling, but now fully healthy, the bar is set higher than many think.
DE
25 Colby Wooden (6-5, 278lbs So)
3 Zykevious Walker (6-4, 289lbs So)
DE
Derick Hall (6-3, 251lbs Jr)
99 T.D Moultry (6-2, 253lbs Sr)
Are you excited about this edge unit? Well, you should be. They are deep, talented, and experienced. Don’t be shocked to see some of these guys line up at multiple positions. There are a few names not seen here that will undoubtedly have an impact on this Auburn defense.
NT
90 Tony Fair (6-1, 330lbs Sr)
89 J.J Pegues (6-3, 308lbs So)
DT
50 Marcus Harris (6-2, 279lbs So)
92 Marquis Burks (6-3, 314lbs Sr)
In a very rare time at Auburn, the interior Defensive line might be the biggest question mark. The transfer portal was not kind to us and neither were injuries. Hopefully Tony Fair can anchor a somewhat thin, inexperienced interior and let our LB’s eat.
MLB
0 Owen Pappoe (6-1, 226lbs Jr)
31 Chandler Wooten (6-3, 232lbs Sr)
WLB
9 Zakoby McClain (6-0, 219lbs Sr)
32 Wesley Steiner (6-0, 229lbs So)
Star
31 Chandler Wooten (6-3, 232lbs Sr)
35 Cam Riley (6-5, 219lbs So) OR
33 Joko Willis (6-3, 196lbs Rfr)
Arguably the best LB core in the SEC. Anchored by SEC returning leading tackler Zakoby McClain, this LB unit is primed for a monster season. They are deep, experienced, and have a chip on their shoulder. This will be the heart and soul of our defense this season and you should expect big things.
CB
23 Roger McCreary (6-0, 190lbs Sr)
14 Ro Torrence (6-4, 197lbs Rfr)
CB
18 Nehemiah Pritchett (6-1, 179lbs Jr)
36 Jaylin Simpson (6-1,175lbs So)
S
19 Bydarrius Knighten (6-1, 201lbs Sr)
11 Zion Puckett (6-0, 209lbs So)
S
21 Smoke Monday (6-3, 199lbs Sr)
1 Donovan Kaufman (5-10, 200lbs Rfr)
Who has the best secondary in the SEC? Look no further than your Auburn Tigers. Derek Mason has plenty of toys to play with here. This is the deepest and most experienced unit on the team. A lot of these guys are interchangeable and can play safety, corner, and Nickel. Ladarius Tennison is a name not listed to keep an eye on.
PK 26 Anders Carlson (6-5, 220lbs Sr)
96 Ben Patton (5-10, 205lbs So)
Kicker U? Yeah, we have another Carlson another year. Dropping Three’s like Steph Curry.
PR
6 Ja’varrius Johnson (5-10, 159lbs So)
PR
0 Demetris Robertson (6-0, 185lbs Sr)
Good hands, good feet, good God let’s eat.
KR
1 Donovan Kaufman (5-10 200lbs Rfr)
KR
18 Nehemiah Pritchett (6-1, 179lbs Jr)
These boys can make you miss in a phone booth. More importantly, they will take care of the football.
Blogle again. How do you think beAU did? Leave a comment below.
