aubiefifty 18,231 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 al.com Takeaways, observations from Auburn's 2020 depth chart By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com 7-9 minutes Few things have felt normal about the last six-plus months, but on Tuesday morning, a sense of regularity returned when one of the traditional signifiers of football season on the Plains occurred. That’s right: Auburn unveiled its official depth chart for the 2020 season ahead of its season-opener against Kentucky this weekend. The Tigers rolled out their two-deep -- which was actually a four-deep at multiple positions this season -- which featured 16 new starters compared to last season’s Week 1 depth chart, a couple position tweaks and a handful of surprises sprinkled throughout. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the depth chart and look at some key takeaways and observations from this new-look Auburn team. -- Surprise starters: Two players really stood out at “surprises” on the top line at their respective positions -- redshirt freshman defensive tackle Colby Wooden and redshirt freshman cornerback Jaylin Simpson. Wooden, who was praised by defensive coordinator Kevin Steele as one of Auburn’s biggest risers this offseason, earned the defensive tackle spot previously held by consensus All-American Derrick Brown, beating out senior Daquan Newkirk for the starting job, while Simpson secured the No. 2 cornerback spot opposite Roger McCreary. Gus Malzahn lauded Wooden’s consistency -- using the word three times in his answer about the young defensive lineman’s rise -- while Simpson apparently made an early impression in camp and never let up, emerging from a five-man competition against Nehemiah Pritchett, Marco Domio, Matthew Hill and Devan Barrett. -- A few positions still up for grabs: Three starting jobs remain up for grabs heading into the regular season, with one wide receiver spot, left tackle and punter all featuring an “OR” on the top line. Junior Anthony Schwartz and redshirt senior Eli Stove were listed as co-starters at receiver (with Seth Williams and Shedrick Jackson at the other two starting receiver spots), while Austin Troxell and Alec Jackson shared the top line at left tackle, and Aidan Marshall and Oscar Chapman are still competing at punter. There is also an “OR” listed at linebacker between sophomore Owen Pappoe and junior Zakoby McClain. Both are considered starters and play starter-level snaps in Steele’s defense, which typically plays a core four of linebackers. The designation between Schwartz and Stove is merely that. Both were among the top-three receivers on last year’s team and figure to have major roles again this year. Malzahn said both will likely be on the field together at various points this season, too. Malzahn said the team is continuing to evaluate the battle at left tackle between Troxell, a player who is coming off a third ACL injury, and Jackson, a converted defensive tackle. As for punter, Malzahn still hasn’t settled on who would be the first on the field, but both could punt against Kentucky if needed. It’s interesting to note that the last time Marshall saw the field for Auburn was the season-opener in 2018 against Washington, when he earned the starting job, punted once against the Huskies and then lost the starting job to Arryn Siposs. Now back with the team after a year-plus away, Marshall again finds himself in a competition with another Australian import for the starting job. -- Unique offensive line: While the left tackle spot is still up for grabs, the other four starting jobs along the retooled offensive line are settled, with Nick Brahms returning at center, grad transfer Brandon Council taking over at right guard, Tashawn Manning earning the left guard spot and Brodarious Hamm at right tackle. The most unique aspect of the line? The Tigers have two cancer survivors starting in Hamm and Manning. -- “OR” count: Along with the three unsettled competitions for starting jobs, the word “OR” appears 14 times on Auburn’s depth chart, including twice each at running back and tight end. Shaun Shivers, along with being one of four team captains, earned the starting job at running back, while three others were listed as the backup with “OR”s separating them -- sophomore D.J. Williams, freshman Tank Bigsby and redshirt freshman Mark-Antony Richards. Offensive coordinator Chad Morris said this month he wants four reliable running backs, so the decision to list those three as co-backups behind Shivers makes sense, and all will likely have roles against Kentucky. John Samuel Shenker is the starter at tight end, while three freshmen were listed as co-backups behind him: redshirt freshman Luke Deal and true freshmen J.J. Pegues and Brandon Frazier. A couple other notable “OR” designations on the depth chart: At the two receiver spots behind Seth Williams and Jackson, four newcomers appear as co-backups. Behind Williams, freshmen Kobe Hudson and Elijah Canion make an appearance, while Jackson’s backups are listed as Ze’Vian Capers and graduate transfer Caylin Newton. -- Position change: Freshman Jeremiah Wright has moved to defensive tackle for depth purposes after signing as an offensive lineman and repping at guard earlier this preseason. The move comes after the mid-camp departure of Coynis Miller Jr. -- Notable absences: Running back Harold Joiner did not make an appearance on the depth chart. Joiner has been vying for reps in the backfield with the other four running backs but is not on the two-deep. Despite that, Malzahn said the redshirt sophomore still has a “specific” role to play on offense this season, though he did not go into further detail as to what that role will be. Redshirt freshman Tyler Fromm was the only tight end not to appear on the depth chart. -- No H-back: For the first time in the Malzahn era, Auburn did not have the H-back position listed on its depth chart, instead opting just to list the tight end position. That’s not to say Auburn won’t utilize some of its tight ends in that H-back role, however, though Morris likes to emphasize the tight end position in his offense. Auburn also got rid of the third linebacker spot it introduced last season for Nick Coe, settling on the traditional 11-position depth chart on that side of the ball. -- Class breakdown: Auburn’s depth chart this season includes just four seniors listed at starter, including just one on offense (Eli Stove, who also appears as a kick returner on special teams) and three on defense (defensive end Big Kat Bryant, defensive tackle Tyrone Truesdell and linebacker K.J. Britt). In all, 10 seniors appear on the depth chart, while 26 true or redshirt freshmen made an appearance, including four possible starters -- Simpson and Wooden on defense, Chapman at punter and backup kicker Ben Patton as holder on special teams. The Tigers also have 14 sophomores on the depth chart, including three starters in Pappoe, Bo Nix and Derick Hall. Twenty-four juniors are also listed on the two-deep, including 19 starters or co-starters (21 when you count Shivers and Christian Tutt twice, as both are listed at starters at their respective offensive/defensive positions, as well as on special teams at kick returner and punt returner, respectively). Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 30 minutes ago, aubiefifty said: Position change: Freshman Jeremiah Wright has moved to defensive tackle for depth purposes after signing as an offensive lineman and repping at guard earlier this preseason. The move comes after the mid-camp departure of Coynis Miller Jr. How much difference a year can make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TieGrrrr 14 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 Does Bigsby take the job outright soon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 18,231 Posted September 23, 2020 Author Share Posted September 23, 2020 3 minutes ago, TieGrrrr said: Does Bigsby take the job outright soon? who knows? i am betting gus gives him the chance to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 6 minutes ago, TieGrrrr said: Does Bigsby take the job outright soon? What makes you think that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abw0004 10,303 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 1 hour ago, aubiefifty said: -- Unique offensive line: While the left tackle spot is still up for grabs, the other four starting jobs along the retooled offensive line are settled, with Nick Brahms returning at center, grad transfer Brandon Council taking over at right guard, Tashawn Manning earning the left guard spot and Brodarious Hamm at right tackle. The most unique aspect of the line? The Tigers have two cancer survivors starting in Hamm and Manning. Biggest takeaway for me in this article. How cool is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey 16,781 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 26 minutes ago, TieGrrrr said: Does Bigsby take the job outright soon? Not unless Shivers and D.J. Williams both get ankle sprains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sizzle 3,948 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 26 minutes ago, TieGrrrr said: Does Bigsby take the job outright soon? Why would he? If he didn’t earn it then he shouldn’t be the starter right now. The way this depth chart looks, it looks like the coaches went with who performed the best, not the biggest names/recruits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbird 60,939 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 38 minutes ago, TieGrrrr said: Does Bigsby take the job outright soon? No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbird 60,939 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 32 minutes ago, McLoofus said: What makes you think that? Worm is short Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddc 13,197 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 12 minutes ago, bigbird said: Worm is short I’m short too! Short on awesome adjectives to describe how awesome, tough, fast, mean, strong 💪🏿... Worm/V8 is, well y’all get it. Feel free to add your own to the list! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuCivilEng1 12,096 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 I like this team a lot. QB - I think Bo is primed for a great year, but if he gets injured we are going to RB run the ball city. HB - Great group with a ton of potential! WR/TE - Great! No has so many weapons. Seth and Stove are both reliable and should have a big year. OLine - who knows. 50/50. DLine - I think this group has issues getting to the QB again and losing Brown and Marlon is going to be tough. LB - Amazing as long as the core stays healthy. 2 injuries and we are possibly back to Chizik era LB production. Secondary - One of the best I’ve seen since Rogers and Rosegreen. K- Solid P - We may have issues here. Head Coach - Well we know how that goes. I’m fully prepared to sing his praises or be calling for his firing after game 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuburnNTexas 7,317 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 45 minutes ago, AuCivilEng1 said: I like this team a lot. QB - I think Bo is primed for a great year, but if he gets injured we are going to RB run the ball city. HB - Great group with a ton of potential! WR/TE - Great! No has so many weapons. Seth and Stove are both reliable and should have a big year. OLine - who knows. 50/50. DLine - I think this group has issues getting to the QB again and losing Brown and Marlon is going to be tough. LB - Amazing as long as the core stays healthy. 2 injuries and we are possibly back to Chizik era LB production. Secondary - One of the best I’ve seen since Rogers and Rosegreen. K- Solid P - We may have issues here. Head Coach - Well we know how that goes. I’m fully prepared to sing his praises or be calling for his firing after game 1. I agree with most of what you say except for: LB - We have 3 starters for a 2 man rotation plus Steiner, Riley and Tisdol from what I have heard Steiner and Riley have what it takes. I know they are freshman but they have been getting extra reps and will contribute so that is a 5 or 6 players for a position we normally only put 2 on the field. P - We have an Aussie plus a walk-on with some experience. Normally Punters don't get hurt now Covid-19 could change everything DLine - You are probably right but I think we may have better pressure from outside this year then we had last year and we can always blitz a little when needed. If DT's can plug the middle and keep O-Line off LB's we should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Win4AU 4,182 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 Wonder why Fromm wasn’t included? Wasn’t there talk that he was more of a WR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.