5.7.23 Football Articles early edition

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Top ranked safety KJ Bolden sets up Auburn visit

Daniel Locke

~2 minutes

KJ Bolden, a highly-ranked defensive back in the class of 2024 from Buford High School in Georgia, has scheduled a visit to Auburn.

The visit is scheduled for Auburn’s bye week per Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports.

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“Auburn is set for the first weekend in October when Buford is on a bye week.”

The six-foot-one, 185-pound athlete currently holds 40 college offers. Other than Auburn, Bolden holds offers from high-level programs such as Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Florida State, and Oregon. Those are all of the programs that Bolden has a “warm” level of interest in according to 247Sports.

Bolden is a five-star recruit with a 0.9957 composite rating according to 247Sports. The Buford, Georgia native is the No. nine-ranked player in the class of 2024, the No. one-ranked safety and the No. two ranked players in the state of Georgia.

Auburn is yet to land a safety commit in the class of 2024, but the Tigers have landed two four-star recruits at cornerback, A'mon Lane and Jayden Lewis.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Daniel on Twitter @DanielJLocke

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247sports.com

Auburn depth chart impact: WR Caleb Burton

Nathan King

4–5 minutes

Less than 24 hours after landing its much-needed transfer quarterback, Auburn added more help to the passing game via the transfer portal.

On Saturday, Ohio State receiver Caleb Burton committed to the Tigers after visiting the program last weekend. The Texas native doesn’t bring any production to the table after redshirting as a true freshman last season, but there’s plenty of talent for Auburn’s new coaching staff to mold, as Burton was a top-150 overall recruit in the 2022 class.

After third-year players Landen King and Tar'Varish Dawson entered the portal, Auburn was left with only seven scholarship receivers, making the position group one that Hugh Freeze and his staff were going to target heavily. Burton’s commitment likely won’t be the last Auburn pushes for in the receiving corps.

Rated as the No. 10 receiver in the country by 247Sports in last year’s recruiting class — and signing with an Ohio State program that has arguably college football’s best track record at the position over the past few seasons — Burton did not appear in any games for the Buckeyes during their run to the College Football Playoff.

Burton visited Auburn last weekend just a few days after entering the portal, and new position coach Marcus Davis made him feel like a major priority to boost a thin unit.

“Something they’ve been harping on is (needing) more wide receivers on the team,” Burton said. “And I think that’s a great opportunity,"

Burtons joins the highly anticipated transfer quarterback pickup — Payton Thorne from Michigan State — along with App State pass-rusher Jalen McLeod as the Tigers’ trio of post-spring transfer additions thus far, all within the past four days. Auburn is now up to 15 transfer players added to the roster under Freeze.

Here’s a look at Davis’ receiving corps at the moment, and where the 5-foot-11 Burton could fit in as a redshirt freshman.

Seniors: Ja'Varrius Johnson, Nick Mardner

Juniors: Koy Moore (RS), Malcolm Johnson Jr. (RS)

Sophomores: Camden Brown, Omari Kelly

Freshmen: Caleb Burton (RS), Jay Fair (RS), Daquayvious Sorey

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Early depth chart projection

WR/X: Camden Brown (1), Nick Mardner (2)

WR/Z: Koy Moore (1), Malcolm Johnson Jr. (2) OR Omari Kelly (2)

WR/H: Ja'Varrius Johnson (1), Jay Fair (2) OR Caleb Burton (2)

It’s difficult to get a concrete read on where Burton fits most comfortably in terms of alignment at receiver, since he didn’t take any snaps at Ohio State. In high school, he was obviously a playmaker all over the field, even lining up on the outside. He could fit more of a slot role at Auburn, where he could serve as an immediate replacement for Dawson, but he was also evaluated as being more fluid than explosive in high school, which could find him a home at the flanker spot.

Davis seems to have a solid foursome of Johnson, Mardner, Brown and Moore, who were the primary fixtures in the first-team offense during spring practice. But behind them, Malcolm Johnson Jr., Kelly, Fair and Burton all have yet to accomplish much at the college level. In addition to the 4-star freshman Sorey, playing time should be up for the taking in the second wave of Auburn’s receiving corps. And Freeze reiterated in spring practice that he wants two solid groups of receivers to be able to consistently rotate throughout the season.

While Burton is still short on experience and will be learning a new system on the fly in fall camp, there’s little question of the type of talent and potential he brings to the offense. Burton now becomes the highest-rated recruit Auburn has at the position.

While Burton may serve as more of a depth piece his first season on the Plains, Auburn’s staff will be looking to ensure his development is on the best track to create a starting-caliber player in the near future.

6COMMENTS

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yes this is Michigan State but i feel like it gives us a nice window into him.