receivers bounce back

[aubiefifty 17,478]

Auburn receivers put drop issues behind them, bounce back vs. Arkansas

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

5-6 minutes

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Oct 16, 2021; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Demetris Robertson (0) carries ball between Auburn and Arkansas at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Todd Van Emst/AU AthleticsTodd Van Emst/AU Athletics

Bryan Harsin knew something needed to change for Auburn’s skill players on offense.

A week ago, the Tigers’ efforts were maligned by seven dropped passes, upping their SEC-worst total to 23 on the season. It had become frustrating and a point of contention. Auburn needed a solution and a fix on the field. That came Saturday in the team’s 38-23 win against No. 17 Arkansas, as Auburn’s receivers, tight ends and running backs put together a clean game that helped the offense approach its potential in the passing game.

“We did a better job of executing,” quarterback Bo Nix said. “We had a good plan going in. Our gameplan was really good from the start. We had some shots as well as some just dink-and-dunk, easy completions.”

Nix was superb for Auburn, completing 21-of-26 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns while adding another rushing score that sealed the game, but his performance would have been nothing had his receivers not stepped up against Arkansas. The Tigers’ position players put last week’s woes behind them and came up with big play after big play against the Razorbacks, with 10 different players catching a pass — and what appeared to be just two dropped balls on Nix’s 26 attempts.

Those came from the tight end position, with freshman Landen King unable to corral a third-down pass that would have produced a chunk of yardage midway through the third quarter, and Luke Deal failing to bring in a first-down throw from Nix on a tough play in which the quarterback was rolling to his left and threw back across the middle of the field. Those two instances aside, Auburn’s corps of pass-catchers enjoyed a needed bounceback performance as the team heads into the bye week.

Shedrick Jackson, who had a forgettable game against Penn State last month, caught all five of his targets for 61 yards. Kobe Hudson secured all three of his targets for 29 yards. Ja’Varrius Johnson turned his lone target into a 39-yard touchdown on Auburn’s opening drive. Demetris Robertson, who had a team-high three drops against Georgia, hauled in both of his targets for 81 yards — including a 71-yard touchdown on a dime from Nix after a change of possession late in the third quarter.

“Nobody is trying to put the ball on the ground; we know that,” Harsin said. “A lot of it has to do with the teams that we play. They’re good. It was good to see our wide receivers, our passing game have some explosive plays today. That helps us.”

The cleaner and more productive game from Auburn’s receivers came following another week of emphasizing in practice the need to be more consistent in the passing game. The Tigers did more one-on-one drills and added team pass-catching work during the leadup to Saturday’s game, though Harsin said “it’s not anything revolutionary.”

They renewed a focus on fundamentals and continued to harp on the need for a fine attention to detail. More players also stayed late after practices this week to get extra work with Nix and the other quarterbacks. It was about repetition.

“The Georgia game really was just a game for us to polish up things and get on top of the things that we really need to work on,” Robertson said. “This Arkansas game was the game to solidify that for ourselves and keep working at practice and get chemistry with the quarterbacks.

Though the extra drills and time after practice may have helped, Harsin believes the Tigers benefited from some added perspective after their recent issues with dropped passes.

“We’ve got to go out there and work on it every day and have confidence in ourselves and believe that we can go out there and make those plays,” Harsin said. “It’s not really any more complicated than that. There’s a few things we did drill-wise, but overall, (it’s telling them), ‘you know what you’re capable of doing, just go out there and do it. Don’t let all these other factors become bigger than what they really are.’ It’s just doing your job at the wide receiver position on that side of the ball.

“That was the message this week. Just do your job. You don’t have to do anything more than that. Just focus on one play at a time. It’s simple, but don’t get ahead of yourself.”

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

[WVR 818]

So proud of the receivers today. They have been put down all year, but they sure showed up today. Hopefully they are becoming more confident. 

[Randman5000 4,238]

My man Drob! #0

[JDUBB4AU 5,138]

2 hours ago, Randman5000 said:

My man Drob! #0

Bout time he lived up to the hype 

[AUght2win 6,918]

They played EXCELLENT today.