Projecting Auburn's spring depth chart on offense

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Projecting Auburn's spring depth chart on offense

ByNathan King

10-13 minutes

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 this week and kick off the first practices of the Bryan Harsin era. Starting this 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 last 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.

To wrap things up, we'll predict the Tigers' pre-spring depth chart — starting with the offense. Defense and special teams will be tomorrow.

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• Bo Nix (junior)

Nix is once again in a position to be one of the most experienced returning quarterbacks in the conference — and now he's probably one of the most seasoned passers in college football. Can Auburn's new offensive coaching staff help him to finally turn the corner and become an upper-echelon passer? It will start this spring with Harsin and Mike Bobo working on solving some of Nix's issues from the past couple seasons and tapping into his strong suits.

• Dematrius Davis (early enrollee freshman)

Auburn figures to have one of the better backup quarterbacks in the SEC this coming season in Davis, who just wrapped up the winningest season in Texas high-school football history. He's a nimble runner who's capable of making big-time throws from inside and outside the pocket. Davis has the tools to beat out the other two QBs for the backup spot.

• Grant Loy (redshirt senior) OR Chayil Garnett (redshirt freshman)

It wasn't clear for a month or so whether Loy would return for a second senior season, but Auburn is certainly glad that he will. He's the most experienced quarterback on the roster in terms of years played. The former Bowling Green transfer should give Davis a good run for QB2.

Call it a hunch, but Garnett seems primed to take a step forward in his first full offseason with the program. He's a gifted athlete who looks to also benefit from a new, more quarterback-friendly offensive system.

• Tank Bigsby (sophomore)

After an SEC Freshman of the Year campaign, Bigsby is unquestionably the centerpiece of this offense moving forward, and he may just be the most talented player on the whole team. It looked like early this winter he may have to take on a huge load in terms of carries, but Auburn made a couple smart moves in the running backs room to help Bigsby out. He should still be touching the ball 20-25 times a game, at least, especially after a full offseason training and bulking up in the strength program.

• Shaun Shivers (senior)

Look for Shivers to create some separation as a true No. 2 running back. He and D.J. Williams, who transferred to Florida State, where mostly neck-and-neck last season while they both dealt with injuries. But when healthy, Shivers was an impressive runner, and he also caught 10 passes out of the backfield. His leadership on offense as a returning team captain is vital, too.

• Devan Barrett (senior) 

Making a return to the position he started his Auburn career at, Barrett gives Cadillac Williams' group some intriguing versatility as a longer athlete who can catch passes and make an impact going side to side, too. He showed good flashes during his true freshman season at tailback in 2017, and Auburn will likely stand to benefit from giving him a few touches a game.

• Freshman Jarquez Hunter will arrive in the summer

9/SPLIT END

• Elijah Canion (redshirt freshman)

• J.J. Evans (redshirt freshman)

Canion appeared in only two games, but he's a player the staff was high on all season as a big playmaker and one of the more athletically gifted young weapons on the offense. He proved as much in the Citrus Bowl, when he displayed some impressive route-running and a propensity to stretch a defense downfield with three catches for more than 80 yards and a long touchdown.

Evans didn't play at all in his freshman campaign but is long, fast option at 6-foot-3. 

5/BIG SLOT

• Ze'Vian Capers (sophomore)

• Shedrick Jackson (senior)

• Caylin Newton (senior)

Capers is Auburn's top returning receiver in terms of snaps played in 2020, and he should develop into a go-to option once fully healed from a foot injury sustained in the bowl game. After catching seven passes for 77 yards and a touchdown in his true freshman year, Capers underwent surgery in early January. He can be an outside threat, as well, but he showed a knack for creating space in the middle of the field and is a big target at 6-foot-4.

If Capers isn't available this spring, Auburn has Jackson, who is less of a pass-catcher and more of a blocker but still brings an experienced presence to the table. Newton played sparingly in 2020 as primarily a blocking receiver, too.

2/FLANKER

• Kobe Hudson (sophomore)

• Malcolm Johnson Jr. (redshirt freshman)

• Ja'Varrius Johnson (redshirt sophomore)

Auburn will need to replace the highly productive Eli Stove at this position, and it could do so by committee. Hudson showed some strong route-running skills as a true freshman, while the two Johnsons are fast, speed-sweep options who can stretch defenses out moving side-to-side.

• Freshmen Tar'Varish Dawson and Hal Presley will arrive in the summer

• John Samuel Shenker (senior) OR J.J. Pegues (sophomore)

Shenker has been a reliable target for years now, and Pegues was a useful utility player as a true freshman.

• Luke Deal (redshirt sophomore) 

Deal filled in Auburn's H-back and tight end hybrid role in 2020 and was an effective blocker. He logged the most snaps of any returning player on this list.

• Brandon Fraizer (sophomore)

Frazier, a 6-foot-7 monster of a target, only played in a handful of games at the end of the season after an injury but Nix targeted him often when he checked in.

• Tyler Fromm (redshirt sophomore) OR Landen King (early enrollee freshman)

Fromm fell behind in the rotation last season and should be bringing up the bottom of the pecking order with the true freshman King, who is an able pass-catcher with some skills, like Frazier, to make plays for big yardage in the middle of a defense.

LEFT TACKLE

• Austin Troxell (redshirt senior)

• Alec Jackson (senior)

• Killian Zierer (redshirt junior)

Troxell had Jackson beat after the Georgia game and was set to take over as the starter at left tackle before he suffered a concussion in practice. When Jackson suffered a hand injury toward the end of the season, Troxell started Auburn's final three games and held up well.

Zierer, a JUCO transfer, didn't play at all in 2020 coming off a knee injury, but former head coach Gus Malzahn said toward the end of the season that he was a full participant in practice. He'll likely be a strong backup at either tackle spot in 2021.

LEFT GUARD

• Brandon Council (senior)

• Tashawn Manning (senior)

• Garner Langlo (early enrollee freshman)

It's likely Auburn's best guard pairing will be Council and Keiondre Jones, since those two were the most consistent interior lineman all last season. Council probably won't be ready to go this spring, though, after his knee injury, so it will be interesting to see how the new staff manages the position battles here once he makes his return.

An Akron transfer who joined the program last April, Council blew out his knee in the Ole Miss game. But Auburn has worked magic on similar knee injuries in recent years, with receivers like Stove and Will Hastings returning to the field the very next season after their injuries.

Langlo is listed on the roster as a tackle but has more experience at guard, though the versatility won't at all be a negative for the Tigers. At 6-foot-7 and 280 pounds, Langlo can be molded by Auburn's staff for a couple years, and his early start within the program as a spring enrollee should help that development along.

CENTER

• Nick Brahms (senior) 

• Jalil Irvin (junior)

• Avery Jernigan (redshirt freshman)

Brahms has been inconsistent at best, but his 21 career starts and experience working alongside Nix for two full seasons should prove valuable for new position coach Will Friend.

5COMMENTS

Council's versatility could come into play here, as well, since he stepped in as the first-team center last fall camp when Brahms was out for a while. Could he take over as the starting center in order to allow a player like Troxell or Brodarious Hamm to shift over to guard? We probably won't get many answers about Council until he's healthier in fall camp.

Irvin was Brahms' immediate backup in game action last season, while Jernigan can play anywhere on the interior of the line.

RIGHT GUARD

• Keiondre Jones (redshirt sophomore)

• Brandon Council (senior)

• Kam Stutts (redshirt sophomore)

• Tate Johnson (redshirt freshman)

Especially considering he was a redshirt freshman being thrown into the fire, Jones performed at a high level filling in for Council after his injury. Again, the guard spots could come down to which pairing between Jones, Council and Manning — and possibly Troxell — yields the most success for Auburn at the line of scrimmage.

RIGHT TACKLE

• Brodarious Hamm (senior)

• Brenden Coffey (senior)

• Austin Troxell (redshirt senior)

Hamm was the starter for most of the season before a knee injury, after which Coffey stepped in and performed respectably. This job should be Hamm's to lose unless he's slid to a guard spot.

• Freshman OT Colby Smith will arrive in the summer