Spring practice preview: 5 wild cards for offense

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Spring practice preview: 5 wild cards for Auburn's offense

ByNathan King 24 hours ago

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Spring practice is almost here on the Plains, and Auburn — plus every other program in college football — won't take this time for granted ever again.

After spring ball was nixed in 2020 thanks to the pandemic, the Tigers are ready to roll next week and kick off the first practices of the Bryan Harsin era. Starting next week, the Tigers will practice on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Harsin said. After the first two weeks, the team will scrimmage, then get a week off as to replicate a spring break. Then the Tigers return for the final two weeks, culminating with annual A-Day spring game April 17.

“I think the 15 practices in spring are maybe the most valuable practices you get in an entire year," Harsin said this week. "It sets the stage for your whole entire summer because in the summertime, that’s where the greatest development comes for a particular player — their strength, their speed, their football intelligence. All the things they’re preparing to execute during a season happens in the summer. You fine-tune that in fall camp, but where does it all come from? It comes from the spring.”

There are plenty of familiar faces returning to both sides of the ball, and a handful of interesting newcomers, too. So how do they all fit into the equation under new leadership?

Auburn Undercover will preview a different facet of Auburn's upcoming spring practices every day until things get rolling on Monday, from wild-card players to freshman fits to position battles to depth charts.

We'll kick things off with a look at five wild cards to watch on the offensive side of the ball — players who possess an eclectic skill set and whose contributions for the upcoming season can best be described as unpredictable.

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RB Devan Barrett

(Photo: Greg McWilliams, 247Sports)

Devan Barrett filled in nicely for Auburn this offseason as a depth piece in a big position of need. Running backs coach Cadillac Williams was down to just two scholarship players — Tank Bigsby and Shaun Shivers — before Barrett opted back in with the program and made the switch back to his original position with the team.

Signed as a highly sought-after, four-star tailback in the 2017 class, Barrett went from running back to wide receiver to cornerback at Auburn, seeing little-to-no playing time at the latter two positions.

But as a true freshman in the backfield, Barrett was able to find a small role and contribute, touching the ball 24 times for 112 yards and a touchdown. He looked smooth as a ball-carrier and a receiver in the open field.

"It’s not the case that he’s not good enough," Tim Horton, Barrett’s former running backs coach on the Plains, told Auburn Undercover last month. "He kind of had to bide his time a little bit, and I think he has. I really thought he was an outstanding player. Great burst, great accelerator, and had great ball skills. I thought he was going to be a really good player.”

No one is challenging Bigsby for the lead back spot, but there will be healthy competition behind him for touches between Shivers, Barrett and freshman Jarquez Hunter. Barrett brings a versatile dynamic to the room as a player who not only was recruited by some programs as a receiver out of high school, but also worked at the position at Auburn for a blip before moving to the defensive side of the ball.

He could provide an easy outlet out of the backfield for quarterback Bo Nix, and he could help to replace some of the production being lost without Anthony Schwartz and Eli Stove, both of whom were speed-sweep options at receiver.

Of Auburn’s four running backs, Barrett seems to be the most versatile, and his role within the offense could be opened up. If he receives decent playing time, it’s doubtful he’ll be limited to simply carrying the ball out of the backfield a few times a game.

OL Austin Troxell

(Photo: SEC Media Services / Auburn Athletics)

Finally healthy, Austin Troxell was Auburn’s starting left tackle for the final few games of the season after Alec Jackson’s injury. He was supposed to be slotted in as a starter even earlier in the season — Week 3 against Arkansas — before he sustained a concussion in practice leading up to the game, his parents told Auburn Undercover last season.

Injuries have been weighing down Troxell, one of Auburn’s top-rated offensive line signees in recent years, dating back to his junior year of high school. He’s had three major knee surgeries in five years, stunting his development with the Tigers. Auburn’s revolving door at offensive line coach probably hasn’t helped, either.

But new position coach Will Friend will give the unit a clean slate this spring, and if Troxell is healthy, he figures to be a contender, if not the frontrunner for the left tackle spot.

But the reason he’s a wild card is because he’s capable of moving about the line. He’s played every position up front at Auburn with the exception of center, and some of his highest praise came when he was manning the right-tackle spot.

Depending on how other offensive line injuries shake out for the Tigers, Troxell’s versatility could be called upon again. He would obviously prefer to find a position that works and lock it down, though, seeing as he’s in this situation every offseason.

Troxell is talented and showed good flashes toward the end of last season. There will inevitably be some odd men out of the offensive line rotation due to numbers, but Troxell’s versatility will likely help him to not be among that group.

OL Brandon Council

(Photo: Jason Caldwell/Inside The Auburn Tigers)

Brandon Council sustained a serious knee injury that knocked him out for the rest of the season in late October, so he’s likely not yet fully recovered and prepared to contend for a starting spot in spring practice.

But prior to said injury last year, Council, the former transfer from Akron, was arguably the Tigers’ most consistent performer along the O-line. And, like Troxell, he gives the unit flexibility as a player capable of starting at multiple positions.

He was Auburn’s starting right guard before he went down, but he started at four of five offensive line positions at Akron, including center.

In Auburn’s fall camp last year, when starting center Nick Brahms was out for a week or so, Council took the first-team reps at center over Jalil Irvin, who was listed on the depth chart as Brahms’ official backup. That may have been a glimpse at what to expect if Brahms ever went down in a game setting. It also shows that Council is capable of competing at that position, too.

Brahms has 21 starts under his belt and a two-year rapport with Nix. Still, he was inconsistent at best last season, and the new offensive staff will want to evaluate each player at face value this year. With Council’s injury, that may hurt his chances to be a contender at center immediately, but he could come around in fall camp and start to push Brahms then.

Auburn will want its best five players out there, and Council is almost unquestionably among that group — when he’s healthy and able. That should lead to intriguing position battles whenever Council is back to full speed.

WR Malcolm Johnson Jr.

(Photo: Auburn Athletics)

Even with Schwartz off the NFL, the fastest player on Auburn’s roster might still be in the receivers room.

Malcolm Johnson Jr. joined the team just before fall practice began last year after he reclassified to 2020. He was buried last season in a deep wide receiver rotation but could find himself with more opportunities in his redshirt freshman campaign.

Players like Ze'Vian Capers, Elijah Canion and Kobe Hudson are all above Johnson after they contributed as true freshmen, but they don’t possess the same skill set he does. A former track star in high school, like Schwartz, Johnson has top-end speed that can crack the lid off a defense as a deep threat. He could, like Barrett, also be an option for speed-sweep plays with his speed and agility.

Johnson fits the mold of a small slot receiver; though he’s 6-foot-1, that’s a smaller build compared to the rest of Auburn’s young wideouts. Theoretically, a player like Ja'Varrius Johnson looks to fill the same mold, too.

Malcolm Johnson Jr. appeared in just one game last season — late in the blowout against LSU. However, even though he joined the team late last year, he wasn’t too far behind the rest of his class, seeing as they didn’t have spring practices last year, either.

With a full offseason ahead of him, Johnson, a former four-star prospect out of Virginia, has the talent and athleticism to make some noise in Auburn’s new-look offense. A player with his skill set might be of intrigue to Harsin, Mike Bobo and company as a big-play threat.

TE J.J Pegues

(Photo: Jake Crandall / Syndication: Montgomery Advertiser, USA TODAY Sports)

Of course J.J. Pegues was going to make this list. He’s one of the biggest wild cards — literally and figuratively — in college football, period.

The 6-foot-2, 300-pound tight end was as versatile as advertised in his true freshman season, catching seven passes and taking six snaps out of a wildcat quarterback formation. He even threw the ball once.

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Some theorize that Pegues would be better served in the trenches as an offensive or defensive lineman, but the truth is that he was Auburn’s most consistent blocking tight end last season. He sprung a couple of big plays downfield and was also capable of throwing huge blocks in the backfield. It’s not easy for defenders to take on a player of his size.

Pegues’ versatile skill set was obviously used within the parameters of Gus Malzahn and Chad Morris’ offense. Now, Harsin and Bobo get to play around with everything Pegues brings to the table and find the best way to utilize one of most freakish athletes to come through Auburn in a while.

Both offensive coaches have displayed a knack for getting the ball to the tight end in the past. They don’t have to use Pegues in the same gimmicky packages this season; he’s good enough to simply contribute as a tight end. But the formula is on tape for them to study. Whether Pegues lines up anywhere else this spring will be something to monitor.

Comments (10)

[W.E.D 11,071]

Did Troxell play well last year?  I'm not an expert, but I don't really remember him doing very well when he took over.  Could be wrong.

Council being healthy would be huge, but is he recovered already from an ACL tear?  If he could play center and replace Brahms, we'd be able to put more talent people along the interior of our OL.  I think we'd have a really solid G/C/G.  Just need someone to play tackle at a decent level