cornerback should be strength for defense

[aubiefifty 17,487]

Auburn Football

Auburn’s dynamic duo means cornerback should be strength for Tigers’ defense

Updated Mar 10, 2021; Posted Mar 10, 2021

Auburn defensive back Roger McCreary (23) intercepts a pass intended for Mississippi State wide receiver Osirus Mitchell (5) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Starkville, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)AP

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By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

We’re taking a look at each position group as Auburn prepares to open spring practice on March 15. The eighth of a 10-part series looks at the cornerbacks.

The two most important positions on defense these days, in the wake of the proliferation of spread offenses, are pass-rusher and cornerback — the players who can affect the quarterback, and those who can prevent him from completing passes downfield. When it comes to the latter, Auburn has a stacked group in the secondary, and one that will only get stronger this summer.

Cornerback should be an unquestioned strength for Auburn’s defense in 2021, despite the fact the Tiger ranked 79th nationally in passing defense (242.6 yards per game) and 56th in yards per pass attempt allowed (7.3) last season. That’s because Auburn brings back each of its starting corners from a year ago, another who earned a top spot on the depth chart at the end of fall camp, as well as multiple other experienced rotational pieces returning to the fold.

Projected depth chart:

Cornerback

Roger McCreary, senior, 45 tackles, with seven for a loss, three interceptions and six pass breakups in 10 starts.

Marco Domio, senior, eight tackles in seven games, including one start.

Eric Reed Jr., sophomore, appeared in one game as a freshman in 2020.

Cornerback

Nehemiah Pritchett, junior, 25 tackles, one interception and 10 pass breakups in 11 games, including 10 starts.

Jaylin Simpson, redshirt sophomore, 14 tackles and three pass breakups in eight games, including one start.

Kamal Hadden, junior, three-star junior college transfer who enrolled in January.

Nickelback

Ladarius Tennison, sophomore, 21 tackles in 11 games, including two starts.

Zion Puckett, redshirt sophomore, 15 tackles and one pass breakups in 10 games, including one start.

Departed: Christian Tutt, NFL Draft early entrant.

Due to arrive in the fall: Dreshun Miller, West Virginia grad transfer; A.D. Diamond, three-star freshman.

Outlook: New Auburn cornerbacks coach Zac Etheridge is walking into a situation that appears pretty close to ideal with his new position group this spring. Auburn welcomes back its top-two corners from last year — Roger McCreary and Nehemiah Pritchett — who might constitute one of to top cornerback duos in the SEC, if not the country, this season.

In his first year as Auburn’s top cornerback, McCreary looked the part, following in the footsteps of recent highly productive Auburn corners Noah Igbinoghene, Jamel Dean and Carlton Davis. According to Pro Football Focus analysis, McCreary has a coverage grade of 89.6 since 2019 — making him the second-highest graded corner in the country during that span. Pritchett, meanwhile, led Auburn and was tied for 12th nationally in pass breakups last year with 10 while stepping into the No. 2 spot at corner for Auburn. Pritchett, another in an impressive line of under-the-radar three-star defensive back signees to break out for the Tigers in recent years, also ranked fourth nationally in fewest yards allowed per coverage snap (0.53), according to PFF.

Now McCreary, who could have declared for the draft early, is back for a second year as Auburn’s No. 1 guy. Pritchett is back with an opportunity to continue to improve his game and build on a strong 2020. The Tigers also have Jaylin Simpson, who actually earned the starting job opposite McCreary at the end of fall camp but ceded that spot to Pritchett thanks to an early-season injury. Still, the former four-star prospect was a valuable piece to Auburn’s secondary, and his versatility could pay dividends as defensive coordinator Derek Mason tries to pit the pieces to his schematic puzzle this offseason.

Auburn also returns Marco Domio, a former JUCO transfer who drew lots of praise last fall but whose progress was slowed due to an injury that kept him out of the Tigers’ first four games. He’s an explosive athlete who can bring some more physicality to the position, and spring should be big for him as he looks to establish himself as a key rotational piece behind the Tigers’ dynamic duo at corner.

Further down the chart are redshirt freshman Eric Reed Jr., who was a highly rated 2020 signee but only saw the field in one game last season, and newcomer Kamal Hadden, a junior college transfer who could provide immediate depth in the secondary.

The other component of Auburn’s cornerback group is the nickel position, where the Tigers will look to replace Christian Tutt. The two-year starter in the slot in an early entrant for the NFL Draft after also considering a transfer option this offseason. His likely successor is sophomore Ladarius Tennison, who saw considerable playing time as a freshman last fall and made the most of his playing time behind Tutt. He should have a leg up on locking down that role this spring, while redshirt Zion Puckett — a former safety who has seen time at corner and nickel — should also vie for reps in the slot.

Overall it’s a strong group at corner that should only get stronger this summer, when West Virginia grad transfer Dreshun Miller — another starting-caliber corner — arrives on campus.

Up next: Safeties.

[Paladin 3,305]

 

In Auburn's cornerbacks room, all eyes are on Roger McCreary

By NATHAN KING 4 hours ago

ATLANTA — A few months ago, Roger McCreary could have added to Auburn’s impressive cornerbacks pipeline in the NFL, which the Tigers are increasingly proud of as their former standout corners continue to be drafted highly and become top-notch defenders in the pros.

As extensive as McCreary would have made Auburn’s recent success in that department, the Tigers sure are glad he’ll be in the orange and blue for one last season.

The senior from Mobile, Alabama, will be looking to reprise his role as the team’s No.1 corner in 2021, as he will presumably headline a deep cornerbacks room and secondary overall — which has loaded up in the transfer portal and features plenty of SEC starting-caliber talent.

No corner on the roster has more experience than McCreary, a senior who makes position coach Zac Etheridge’s job a little easier.

“He’s played a lot of ball and he’s seen a lot,” Etheridge said of McCreary on Wednesday, chatting with a couple reporters before an AU alumni event in Atlanta. “His experience speaks for itself.”

Since the conclusion of spring practices in early April, Etheridge said he’s been showing McCreary more of his teaching methods and how he wants to instruct players in his room this season. He wants McCreary to be his right-hand man as he looks to squeeze the most production he can out of a talented group.

“His leadership — the guys in the room respect him, the way he learns, the way he practices,” Etheridge said of McCreary. “I leaned on him a lot. Guys like Nehemiah (Pritchett) and Jaylin Simpson, they’ve been around, but they look up to Roger and what he’s done on the field. He doesn’t say much; he leads by example.

“I’ve been trying to get him to talk more and have an understanding that you do have a voice and you can go grab guys. That’s what we’ve been focusing on — just that leadership this offseason, and being able to be vocal.”

Etheridge has known of McCreary since he was an assistant at Western Carolina. McCreary’s defensive coordinator in high school was Antonio Coleman, who played with Etheridge at Auburn in the late 2000s. Etheridge didn’t have a personal relationship with his star cornerback until he was hired at Auburn, but he at least knew of his skill set and work ethic through conversations with his old teammate.

“I’ve really been excited to work with a guy like him who’s been doing it for a long time,” Etheridge said.

McCreary is coming off a 2020 season in which he led Auburn in interceptions with three — including a 101-yard pick-six against Kentucky that was called back due to a targeting foul — and added nine pass breakups and a forced fumble. He’s also the team’s No. 4 returning tackler.

According to Pro Football Focus, McCreary has forced tight coverage on receivers 48% of the time over the past two seasons, which is the sixth-best rate in the FBS over that span. He also had the 15th-best pure coverage grade and tied for the seventh-most plays made on the ball in the Power Five last season among cornerbacks.

“I'm happy he's back because I just love playing with Roger,” Simpson said in spring ball. “One of my favorite players on defense. Because he's also a guy who teaches me a lot. So before he goes, I have a lot to learn from him before he leaves.”

Etheridge indicated that McCreary will likely track the opposing offense’s best receiver this season — whether it’s an inside possession player or an outside threat — by saying the senior is prepared to slide inside and cover the slot if need be. McCreary has been an example of versatility and coachability so far for Auburn’s secondary, but Etheridge and defensive coordinator Derek Mason want all their defensive backs to work outside their comfort zone in order to maximize the potential of various personnel packages.

“The biggest thing we’ve been focusing on this offseason is understanding the technique that we use,” Etheridge said. “How we teach certain things, getting comfortable and playing different positions as far as being able to press, play off, do a lot of techniques I’ve been focusing on this offseason — trying to get them to be complete DBs and not just one dimensional and just press all the time.”

Regardless of whether it’s Nehemiah Pritchett, Simpson or West Virginia transfer Dreshun Miller being paired with McCreary as the top two cornerbacks, Auburn is expecting to use its depth as much as possible this fall. That’s the “beauty” of Auburn’s secondary, Etheridge said, and McCreary could be the top talent out of all of them. The Tigers expect to go as he goes.

“We’re excited to see what he can do his last year and what he can leave behind,” Etheridge said. “We always talk about leaving a legacy, so what can he give to those guys that are coming behind?”

[WFE12 9,192]

Love that Roger will follow the best player. Also Zac saying he’s trying to get them to be complete dbs and not just one dimensional pressing all the time is music to my ears. 

[AUpreacherman22 3,908]

That CB room is a deep and talented group!  I love the added pass rush specialists to go along with our DBs.  We should have an improved pass D as a result!

[WFE12 9,192]

 

[bigbird 60,624]

To me, some are undervaluing NP. IMO, he is ahead of where some of our more high profile DBs have been at this stage of their respective careers.

[WFE12 9,192]