aubiefifty 18,231 Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 247sports.com Ranking Auburn's most valuable players: No. 31 ByNathan King 5-6 minutes Can Bryan Harsin's Boise State Blueprint Work In SEC? (Late Kick Cut) Ahead of preseason practices, Auburn Undercover is counting down the 50 most valuable players on Auburn's 2021 roster. A few notes to set the table: These rankings are based on a player's previous contributions to the team, as well as his assumed impact in 2021 — how important he is expected to be to Auburn's success in both production and the win-loss column. It is not simply Auburn's best players in descending order. If a freshman is included on the list, his positioning is obviously a projection of his talent and significance to his respective position group. Next in the countdown is No. 31: junior edge rusher Eku Leota. AS A RECRUIT Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina Class: 2018 (high school), 2021 (transfer) Ranking nationally: No. 36 weakside defensive end, No. 24 player in North Carolina Committed to Auburn: Jan. 30, 2021 AS A PLAYER A top-25 player in North Carolina in the 2018 class, Leota redshirted his first year in Evanston before settling in nicely in 2019 as a pass-rusher along Northwestern's defensive line. As a redshirt freshman, the 6-foot-4 Leota had 4.5 tackles for loss with 2.5 sacks, including a strip sack. A year more experienced in longtime coordinator Mike Hankwitz's defense last season, Leota became the sack leader on a defense that ranked in the top 10 nationally in a slew of categories. Leota got to the quarterback four times and added another strip sack to his resume, as well. He was named third team All-Big Ten at the conclusion of the regular season. In the days that followed Northwestern's selection to the Citrus Bowl to face Auburn, Leota entered the transfer portal in what was considered a significant blow to the Wildcats defense. In late January, Leota became the first commitment — high school or transfer — of the Bryan Harsin era at Auburn. He graduated from Northwestern in the summer and will join Derek Mason's defense in fall camp. 2021 OUTLOOK Auburn's new "edge" position has gone from solid to hyper competitive with the additions of Leota and true freshman Dylan Brooks, the No. 1 recruit in Auburn's 2021 class. Rising junior Derick Hall is Auburn's best returning pass-rusher and the leader of that room — position coach Bert Watts leaned on Hall's experience and leadership early and often in spring practices — and fifth-year senior T.D. Moultry will also be looking to close out his Auburn career with a bang. Caleb Johnson had some strong reps in spring ball, too, and will have something to say about the rotation. Depending on Brooks' readiness as a freshman and whether Moultry can elevate his game after an inconsistent past couple seasons, however, Leota could immediately step in this fall and be Auburn's second-best edge rusher behind Hall. His 6.5 career sacks now become the most by any player on Auburn's roster, ahead of Hall's four. It isn't far-fetched to think his production will translate to the Tigers' defense after he succeeded against capable offensive lines in the Big Ten over the past two years. Mason was integral in recruiting Leota to Auburn; something about his pitch for Leota's role within the defensive front made the Tigers an attractive fit for the redshirt junior. Auburn's defensive alignments were flexible in spring practices, shifting from base 3-4 sets to 2-4-5 defenses in which a pair of pass-rushing outside linebackers flank the two down linemen. If the Tigers end up defaulting to Hall on one side and Leota coming off the other in such packages, they could do a lot worse with a pass-rushing duo. Leota has the advantage of experience on a young player like Brooks and of production on Moultry. Additionally, Auburn lists him as an edge rusher, but he doesn't have bad size for a defensive end (6-foot-4, 250 pounds) to rotate with returning standout Colby Wooden. There are plenty of "ifs" that go into Auburn's versatile defensive line in 2021, but Leota's proven prowess creating havoc in the backfield should lead to a starting-adjacent responsibilities for the transfer this fall. *** Subscribe to Auburn Undercover for the latest news and intel, podcasts, recruiting coverage and more *** *** Get Auburn news straight to your inbox with the Auburn Undercover newsletter *** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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