questions at safety beyond Smoke Monday this spring

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1. Auburn Football

Auburn football has questions at safety beyond Smoke Monday this spring

Updated 8:30 AM; Today 8:30 AM

Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano (2) caries the ball in for a touchdown as Auburn defensive back Smoke Monday (21) tries to stop him during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)AP

 

 

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 ninth of a 10-part series looks at the safeties.

 

The back end of Auburn’s defense is in an interesting spot entering the spring.

 

The Tigers lost two of their top-three players at safety from last season, with Jamien Sherwood declaring early for the NFL Draft and Jordyn Peters not seeking an additional season on the Plains. But Auburn also returns a fourth-year contributor with starting experience in Smoke Monday, has a couple of promising young players who have an opportunity to step up this spring.

 

With defensive coordinator Derek Mason expected to oversee Auburn’s safeties, it is certainly a position to keep an eye on this offseason.

 

 

Projected depth chart:

 

 

Safety

 

 

Smoke Monday, senior, 73 tackles, including four for a loss, two interceptions and three pass breakups in 11 games, with 10 starts.

 

 

Ahmari Harvey, freshman, four-star signee who enrolled in January.

 

 

Safety

 

 

Chris Thompson Jr., sophomore, eight tackles in six games as a freshman.

 

 

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

 

 

Departed: Jamien Sherwood, NFL Draft; Jordyn Peters, graduated.

 

 

Due to arrive in the fall: Traivon Leonard, redshirt senior who opted out last season; Juwon Gaston, three-star signee; Cayden Bridges, three-star signee.

 

 

Outlook: Replacing a pair of proven veterans like Sherwood and Peters isn’t easy. Sherwood started 10 games last season and finished third on the team in tackles, while Peters appeared in all 11 games with three starts and had incredibly versatility in the secondary and on special teams. But the return of Monday, who also considered leaving early for the NFL, is big for the back end of Auburn’s defense.

 

 

Monday has been a major contributor since Day 1 on campus, when he earned a spot in the safety rotation as a freshman. He parlayed that into a starting job last year and finished fourth on the team in tackles. Now he’ll be the veteran presence at safety for Auburn, and the Tigers will need to lean on his experience on the back end this offseason.

 

 

That’s because the rest of Auburn’s safety room this spring is either young or relatively inexperienced. Chris Thompson Jr. was listed as Monday’s backup on the depth chart last season and appeared in six games as a freshman, but now the former four-star prospect stands to gain the most this spring following Sherwood’s early departure.

 

 

Auburn also welcomes four-star signee Ahmari Harvey, the nation’s No. 14 safety in the 2021 class, who enrolled in classes this semester. Getting him on campus early is huge, considering how little depth Auburn currently has at safety.

 

 

The Tigers don’t have any other true safeties on scholarship this spring, as redshirt senior Traivon Leonard — who opted out last season but has experience at both safety and corner — doesn’t plan to rejoin the team until the summer. That’s when the program will also add a pair of three-star freshman signees in Juwon Gaston and Cayden Bridges. How Auburn fills out that depth this spring, though, should be interesting. Given the versatility of some of the Tigers’ defensive backs, though, a player like Jaylin Simpson—who mostly played cornerback last season—could provide depth on the back end.

 

 

Up next: Specialists.

 

 

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.