effects of short-handed secondary

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247sports.com

Auburn feels effects of short-handed secondary against Georgia

ByNathan King

5-6 minutes

Already down some crucial depth at defensive back, Auburn was quickly hit with another blow to its secondary only minutes into a pivotal showdown at Georgia on Saturday night.

After the Tigers and Bulldogs traded three-and-outs to begin the game, junior safety Smoke Monday raced down in punt coverage, smacking into return man Kearis Jackson. The hit popped — and both Monday and Jackson reacted — but both teams trotted off to their sidelines, readying for Georgia's second offensive series. During the timeout, however, officials called for a targeting review on Monday. The results came in quickly after the timeout ended — Monday was to be ejected, leaving Auburn without two starters in its secondary.

A group already replacing four of five starters from last year's team, Auburn's defensive backs were also down starting cornerback Jaylin Simpson, who didn't make the trip to Athens after suffering an injury against Kentucky last week. A key cornerback backup, JUCO transfer Marco Domio, wasn't available either.

Simpson's absence set the Tigers back. Redshirt freshman Nehemiah Pritchett was in the running for the starting job in fall camp, but Simpson had impressed Auburn's staff and earned the starting gig with his athleticism and instincts, which were quickly flashed in Auburn's season opener against Kentucky. Simpson's performance against the Wildcats earned him SEC Freshman of the Week honors in his first career start.

But the loss of Monday's leadership, communication and familiarity with Auburn's defensive leaders proved even more brutal for Kevin Steele's group in a 27-6 loss to Georgia. Auburn was beaten in every facet of the game, but Monday's peers on defense felt their performance could have been helped early on had Monday stayed in the game.

"Just coming here, we already knew we were short on corners, so it was next man up at that point," Auburn safety Jamien Sherwood said. "If we needed to, we could have made the adjustments that we would have needed to. But then, like you said, fourth play or something, Smoke going down. That's my right-hand man. When he's on the field, I know exactly what's going on. We're clicking left and right. Everybody's clicking. So just to lose him so quick, and we already came here short, down one. ... Everybody's ready to play whenever their number's called. But losing Smoke, that really was a big factor tonight."

Monday's ejection was the second of his career for a targeting call. He missed the first half of last season's SEC opener against Texas A&M after being tossed against Kent State. As a true freshman playing valuable snaps in the secondary in 2018, Monday was flagged for targeting in a win at Ole Miss before replay review overturned the call.

"The energy and the confidence that he brings to the defense is something we feed off of," Auburn linebacker K.J. Britt said. "Just not having him out there tonight really showed us what we were missing."

Monday was replaced by senior Jordyn Peters, one of Auburn's most versatile and veteran DBs. Peters, called the "big brother" of Auburn's secondary by Sherwood in the preseason, had one of the best defensive outings of his career, finishing as Auburn's second-leading tackler with 13 stops and a pass breakup. Sherwood was first with 14 tackles, a tackle for loss and two pass deflections, though the back end of the Tigers defense was being asked to make more plays in the run game, as Georgia's tailbacks consistently got past Auburn's linebackers with gashing runs.

Auburn's defense was stunned after Monday's ejection; five of Georgia's next six possessions resulted in points, and the Bulldogs went up 24-0. Stetson Bennett IV went 11-of-19 for 158 yards and a 21-yard touchdown in the first half, complementing Georgia's 130 yards on the ground off impressive plays from Zamir White and James Cook.

After adjusting with Steele at halftime, Auburn shored up on chunk plays and coverage over the third and fourth quarters. Bennett and his weapons had already dug the Tigers a huge hole, though, and Auburn's offense was in no position to climb out of it in a hurry.

"Our halftime adjustment was working on those pass concepts," Sherwood said. "So I would say we played the pass pretty good (in the second half). When they threw the ball, they hit a few of them. That's what they're just going to do. ... They just played a great game at that point."