2022 Auburn football position preview: Linebacker

[aubiefifty 18,248]

247sports.com

 

2022 Auburn football position preview: Linebacker

Mark Murphy

5-6 minutes

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2 Minute Drill: Depth on defense a concern for Auburn

 

AUBURN, Alabama–Christian Robinson, the new position coach for the linebackers, has one of the Auburn staff’s bigger challenges for the 2022 football season with the Tigers having to replace their most productive players on defense. Despite that, the Tigers have a variety of options at those spots.

The player expected to be the top linebacker on this year’s roster, Owen Pappoe, will be trying to knock off the rust. The senior has two years of starting experience, but didn’t practice in the spring while recovering from a foot problem that plagued him last fall. Pappoe saw action in just five games and made 23 tackles in 2021.

Fortunately for Defensive Coordinator Jeff Schmedding, who coached the linebackers last season, he was working with two of the top players on the 2021 roster in Zakoby McClain and Chandler Wooten. Unfortunately for Robinson, both of those guys are trying to make NFL rosters this year.

Good news for Robinson is that Pappoe has made a strong comeback and should be ready to do his thing as a senior with the potential to be one of the top defenders in the SEC as a leader of the linebacker group and the defense as a whole. Pappoe served as a team captain last season.

McClain led the 2021 Tigers in tackles with 95 while making eight stops behind the line of scrimmage, including a pair of quarterback sacks. He also broke up a half dozen passes.

Wooten, who sat out the 2020 season, had by far his best season in 2021 with 94 tackles, including five for lost yardage. He deflected three passes and intercepted one.

Pappoe, who is 6-1, 225 pounds out of Lawrenceville, Ga., started all 13 games as a true freshman and finished sixth on the team in tackles with 49 that year. He was credited with a pair of sacks and forced a fumble. In the shortened 2020 season he started all 11 games and made 93 tackles with six behind the line of scrimmage. He produced four sacks, recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass.

A defender with an opportunity to greatly expand his role is 6-5, 230 junior Cam Riley. Named the A-Day Most Valuable Defensive Player, he has played in 11 games each of the previous two seasons and has 23 tackles to show for it. Based on his size and athletic ability, the former Hillcrest High star from Evergreen has the potential for more production.

Cam Riley is shown during Auburn's spring football game. (Photo: Jason Caldwell/Inside The Auburn Tigers, 247Sports)

A wildcard in the mix is newcomer Eugene Asante, a transfer with plenty of experience in the Atlantic Coast Conference. In three seasons with the North Carolina Tar Heels he saw action in 37 games as a part-time starter and made 62 tackles.

Asante, who is 6-1, 216 out of Alexandria, Va., made his collegiate-high of 10 tackles vs. Texas A&M in 2020. He has two seasons of eligibility available.

The situation at linebacker could be helped if the Tigers can get a breakout performance from 6-0, 237 junior Wesley Steiner. He saw very limited playing time in nine games as a true freshman. Last season he played in all 13 contests and was in on 21 tackles. The former Under Armour All-American from Houston County High in Georgia was the leading tackler in this year’s A-Day game and looks to have a shot at breaking into the starting lineup this fall. He has a good understanding of the defense and a strong work ethic, two things that coaches love to see.

Another junior from Georgia, 6-0, 234 Desmond Tisdol out of Wilcox County High, has played in a dozen games in college, but has just four tackles heading into his junior season.

An early arriving freshman, 6-2, 228 Powell Gordon from Auburn High School, played well on A-Day and has a chance to contribute early if he makes a smooth transition from mainly being a defensive end in high school.

The highest-rated signee in the entire 2022 class is a linebacker. Robert Woodyard, who is 6-0, 245 out of Williamson High in Mobile, will have a chance to show the coaches what he can do in preseason.

Another possibility is 6-3, 212 sophomore Joko Willis from LaGrange, Ga., who will try to earn more playing time after finishing his first year on Auburn’s roster with two tackles in eight games. An offensive and defensive standout at Troup County High, the transfer from Independence Community College in Kansas could end up playing the edge pass rush position to take advantage of his quickness to attack quarterbacks.

The rest of the group includes 6-0, 238 junior Kameron Brown, who has played very little, along with a trio of walk-ons. Barton Lester is a 6-3, 216 senior from Montgomery, Jake Levant is a 6-1, 224 sophomore from Vestavia Hills and Jonathan LeGrand is a 6-1, 215 junior from Dothan.

[Mikey 16,781]

If Pappoe isn't 100% all season we won't be as good at LB as we were last season. Healthy Pappoe/Riley could be a plus but McClain will be missed. Ricochet Rabbit was a big contributor.

[Hank2020 3,357]

8 hours ago, Mikey said:

If Pappoe isn't 100% all season we won't be as good at LB as we were last season. Healthy Pappoe/Riley could be a plus but McClain will be missed. Ricochet Rabbit was a big contributor.

Theres the positive leadership we expect from you!!