receivers giving 'maximum effort

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247sports.com

 

Auburn receivers giving 'maximum effort' in fall camp

ByNathan King

5-7 minutes

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Auburn's First Full Pads Practice of Preseason Camp

 

AUBURN, Alabama — Bryan Harsin doesn't expect perfection.

He's made it outwardly apparent since spring practices that he understands some of the uphill climbs his Tigers are facing for the 2021 season in a couple of areas. An unproven group of wide receivers — sans transfer Demetris Robertson, who is still being somewhat held back in practices right now while in an "acclimation" period — certainly qualifies as a question mark on Auburn's roster.

All Harsin is asking for in the preseason is effort. Those who give the most effort in practices will become the most consistent players in the room. And those are ones Harsin will reward with important roles in the offense.

"We’ve got talented players in there," Harsin said of Auburn's receivers. "We’ve got to be consistent every single day. ... They’re capable of doing it so to me, that’s the key.”

Auburn's retooling at receiver has been well documented this offseason: the team's top three pass-catchers from last season declared for the draft, and not one member of the receiving corps had double-digit receptions last year. Of course, the inexperience out wide led Auburn to pursue Robertson, who began practice with the team this week and has looked impressive athletically, though he's still learning the ins and outs of the offense after not being around for spring ball.

"He’s a smart football player," quarterback Bo Nix said of Robertson. "And I’ve been able to learn that because he’s come in and he’s put in effort to learn the playbook and he’s already been able to jump in there with us and move, even though he’s been behind on some of the acclimation stuff."

Even the rest of the receivers who were present in the spring didn't have an easy go of learning Auburn's new offense under Harsin and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. Three players from the room were injured — senior Shedrick Jackson, sophomore Ze'Vian Capers and redshirt freshman J.J. Evans — so those who remained were relied on more often on a daily basis to produce for the offense, while at the same time attempting to grasp Auburn's new offensive concepts.

Things are starting to slow down for the receivers in preseason camp, however, with all three injured players back, and a few more months of understanding the playbook.

“They weren’t being able to perform at probably their God-given ability because of how much thinking they were doing and a lot of still learning how to play receiver,” Bobo said this week. "... We’re lightyears ahead of where we were when we finished spring."

Now that the comfort level has risen, it's time for the execution. Auburn is week into preseason camp and has been playing "musical chairs" with its receivers, Nix said. The Tigers think every receiver on the roster — from Robertson and returning contributors like Capers, to freshman Tar'Varish Dawson — has a chance to crack the primary rotation in the passing game.

Harsin wants to see the competition create standout practice performers. So far, the receivers understand the opportunities that could be ahead of them this season, and are eager to prove their worth for their new coaches.

"They've adapted well," Nix said. "They've taken the challenge. ... That's what I love about this group: They all understand that it's a wide-open competition at this point. Therefore, they're giving maximum effort. They're playing hard for each other. They're concentrating. They're learning. So it's not like we have one or two guys that we know that are going to be dependable and everybody else can kind of just take a back seat and relax. But no, this group is coming in every day, eager to learn and eager to get out there on the field and make plays."

Capers, a 6-foot-4, former four-star recruit from Alpharetta, Georgia, is Auburn's leader in terms of returning production at the position, with seven catches for 77 yards and a touchdown last season. Big-bodied outside target Elijah Canion had three receptions for 80 yards and a score in Auburn's bowl game. Sophomore Kobe Hudson also had seven catches. Jackson, a senior, has only 10 career catches. Ja'Varrius Johnson was a breakout star in the spring and is one of the fastest players on the roster. Speaking of speed, Dawson, a four-star freshman, and Malcolm Johnson Jr., a four-star from last year's class, have plenty of it, too.

Auburn will land on a lineup of primary receivers soon, but Nix said the Tigers will utilize their depth out wide in 2021 — not only to keep pressure off a select few players, which is what happened in the spring, but also to allow the entirety of the position group to showcase their respective skill sets.

"For our offense, it's OK if we have four or five guys touch the ball at receiver," Nix said. "We'd rather that happen. That's good. So I know our coaches are trying everything they can to play as many people as they want. So the more guys that know what they're doing and the more guys that can make plays will only make us better."

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