5 wild cards for Auburn's defense

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

ByNathan King 19 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 defensive 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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LB T.D. Moultry

(Photo: Shanna Lockwood / Auburn Athletics)

A former top-20 player in the nation, Moultry is giving it one last try at Auburn by returning for a second senior season in 2021, making use of the NCAA’s free year of eligibility granted to athletes because of the pandemic. And Auburn is hoping a slight change of scenery will yield more production for Moultry.

Auburn247’s Jason Caldwell reported in January that Moultry will be moving to a standard linebacker spot as opposed to the edge rusher position he occupied in Kevin Steele’s defense. Moultry was originally brought to Auburn as a stand-up linebacker in the box but quickly moved down to the defensive line.

Moultry, at 6-foot-2 and 253 pounds, had a productive first couple seasons with the program, compiling three sacks and five tackles for loss over his freshman and sophomore years. He wasn’t able to build on a solid start, however, as he continued to develop in the defense, contributing only two sacks over the past two seasons. Moultry was passed up in the pass-rushing rotation by players like Big Kat Bryant, Derick Hall and Colby Wooden.

Moultry will now slide back to Jeff Schmedding’s linebackers room, though it’s possible he could still come off the edge when needed and could be a versatile personnel piece for the Tigers when they’re kept from substituting due to fast-paced offenses.

Players like Zakoby McClain and Owen Pappoe — and possibly Chandler Wooten — have experience on their side and will occupy the majority of box linebacker snaps for Auburn’s first-team defense. But if Moultry can develop some lateral quickness and mobility to make plays in space as opposed to a singular spot on the defensive line, he could make a strong impact as a fifth-year player for new defensive coordinator Derek Mason.

DB Jaylin Simpson

(Photo: Todd Van Emst / Auburn Athletics)

Simpson began last season as Auburn’s No. 2 cornerback alongside Roger McCreary. But after being nagged by an injury for most of the year, his production was mostly replaced by Nehemiah Pritchett, who turned in one of the best individual coverage seasons in recent SEC history.

Simpson was still a strong player in the secondary when he was available — he was named SEC Freshman of the Week after his very first start against Kentucky — but it seems plausible that he gets surpassed by Pritchett, and possibly by West Virginia transfer Dreshun Miller, who may have been the best cornerback in the Big 12 last season.

That’s not to say Simpson couldn’t still contribute at corner, but perhaps his skills would be more useful on the back end of the defense.

Simpson slid back to safety on occasion last season and was one of Auburn’s more efficient players in coverage at the position. With the absence of Jamien Sherwood in 2021 after he left for the NFL, there is a starting safety spot open. Even if a player like Chris Thompson Jr. takes it, Auburn has a track record of utilizing its depth in the secondary well, and Simpson could be both a No. 3 safety and No. 4 cornerback, so to speak.

He was recruited to play safety out of Brunswick, Georgia, and contributed as a backup at the position in a few games in 2019.

OLB Romello Height

(Photo: Shanna Lockwood / Auburn Athletics)

Height was unavailable for the first half of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery, and he ended up playing just one game in Auburn’s blowout win over LSU.

Now that he’s healthy, however, Height is a player that was a highly regarded by last year’s staff as an athlete on the outside of the defensive line, and most expected him to be a big contributor down the road. Once spring practices get rolling and Height can show off his skills to his new coaches, they’ll likely find themselves thinking the same thing.

Rising junior Derick Hall is Auburn’s No. 1 edge rusher without question; the battle for his immediate backup in the rotation now becomes a bit more intriguing with Big Kat Bryant out of the mix after his transfer to UCF. Colby Wooden will probably be the leader at the true defensive end spot, opening the door for a competition between Height, Northwestern transfer Eku Leota and Caleb Johnson for playing time.

Height was lean last season, checking in at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds. Should he bulk up a bit this offseason, however, he could diversify himself as a contributor both at outside linebacker and defensive end.

Another facet of Height’s game that could make him invaluable at some point for Auburn’s defensive front: speed. The Tigers haven’t had a player able to get after the quarterback with an elite first burst in a while, and that may have been Height’s biggest calling card as a three-star prospect out of Dublin, Georgia.

Like we’ve written about all offseason, the defensive line questions will begin to answer themselves once Mason decides how he wants to align his defensive fronts. Regardless of how chooses to do so, it seems Height could have the skill set to work his way into the lineup and help out as a pass-rusher in 2021.

DT Tyrone Truesdell

(Photo: Daniel Dunn, Getty)

Related to the previous notion about Mason, we’ll see how Truesdell fits in along the defensive line. But at 6-foot-2 and 326 pounds (!), it seems he’s the top candidate to play a pure nose tackle role.

Much like Derrick Brown, Truesdell’s best contributions don’t appear on the stat sheet; former Auburn defensive tackle Dontavius Russell once said that Truesdell was the best “plugger” on a defensive front that he’d ever seen at the college level.

That flashes in game action occasionally. Watch carefully, and Truesdell can be seen absolutely eliminating an interior offensive lineman from a player and opening a lane for a linebacker to smack a running back in the backfield.

Other times, Truesdell is knocked back and eliminated himself by being pushed to the second level of the defense, and he’s not quick enough like a defensive end to readjust and get back in the play. Auburn will need a bit more consistency out of Truesdell in 2021.

Regardless, it was significant news when Truesdell decided to return for a second senior season. He’s been with the program for five seasons now and brings a demeanor of toughness and physicality to the D-line room. New position coach Nick Eason, most recently in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals, will surely lean on Truesdell as the room has to learn slightly different roles in the new defense.

DL Dre Butler

(Photo: Todd Van Emst / Auburn Athletics)

In his first season with the program, Butler bounced back and forth between the interior of the line as a DT and the exterior as an end.

He may have been a stronger performer at the former position, which is what makes him an interesting player to watch in spring camp this year.

With Truesdell and Daquan Newkirk both opted out of the game, Butler started at defensive tackle in the Citrus Bowl and was one of the Tigers’ better players on the day.

As the former No. 1 JUCO defensive end grew more comfortable down the stretch of the 2020 season, he started seeing more playing time and made good on his opportunities with a handful of impressive plays.

Regardless of whether Mason rolls with a 3-4 or a 4-3 as his base defensive front, Butler has a chance to be a good player at end or tackle.

He could very well be a starter, too, if he beats out the likes of Zykeivous Walker, Jay Hardy and Marquis Burks at defensive tackle. Walker and Hardy could easily make this list, as well, considering their versatility along the D-line.