Our Secondary

[aubiefifty 18,259]

it appears we have the best secondary we have had in a long time. a long time. i always heard we would be great in the past and i felt like we came up short too much. now we seem like we have really stepped up our game. is it some kind of new scheme? better players? is it better position coaching? i am no expert so i am interested. but let me say the secondary has been a wonderful surprise to me and i love the way we ball hawk to get those take a ways. how far off base am i?

 

[Gowebb11 9,882]

15 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

it appears we have the best secondary we have had in a long time. a long time. i always heard we would be great in the past and i felt like we came up short too much. now we seem like we have really stepped up our game. is it some kind of new scheme? better players? is it better position coaching? i am no expert so i am interested. but let me say the secondary has been a wonderful surprise to me and i love the way we ball hawk to get those take a ways. how far off base am i?

 

I agree that is really good, and we still aren’t at full strength. There’s a lot of talent back there. Can’t wait to have Pritchett and Kauffman back.  And we’re going to need it because we’re not getting much of a pass rush so far. 

[shabby 2,057]

They are strong. we will find out how strong this weekend

 

[WFE12 9,351]

Very worried about injuries. They’re piling up at the worst possible time

[aubiefifty 18,259]

18 minutes ago, WFE12 said:

Very worried about injuries. They’re piling up at the worst possible time

i am as well. with everyone we have a chance even if it is a long one. road game and those kids will want to protect their house. and bobby has their stats up. jim gets conservative too often and if he was calling the game i would feel better.

[WFE12 9,351]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

i am as well. with everyone we have a chance even if it is a long one. road game and those kids will want to protect their house. and bobby has their stats up. jim gets conservative too often and if he was calling the game i would feel better.

Even more worried now 😔

[Paladin 3,307]

Auburn 'toying with combinations' in secondary after Keionte Scott's injury

The Tigers' No. 2 returning tackler from last season is out indefinitely

Nathan King

One of Auburn’s most important positions on either side of the ball will be missing its top player for the foreseeable future.

Keionte Scott suffered a high-ankle sprain against Samford, a source close to the situation told Auburn Undercover, and Hugh Freeze said Monday that Scott will undergo surgery and miss “considerable time.” The No. 2 returning tackler from last season’s time, Scott’s injury now leaves a sizable void in the middle of coordinator Ron Roberts’ defense — and "it's a great challenge," Freeze said.

The role now falls to redshirt junior Donovan Kaufman, who missed the Samford win after entering concussion protocol the previous game at Cal. Freeze said "I think (Kaufman) will be fine," after it seemed he was held out against Samford as a precaution.

"We met this morning, and we're just toying with all the different combinations with our current injuries back there," Freeze said.

When Scott went down on the first drive of the game against Samford, Auburn turned to Caleb Wooden at the star position. The younger brother of former Auburn defensive lineman Colby Wooden, who was drafted in the fourth round by the Packers earlier this year, Caleb had easily the best game of his college career against Samford. The redshirt freshman led Auburn with six tackles, plus 1.5 tackles for loss. According to Pro Football Focus, Wooden had three solo stops in the game — meaning three individual plays that constitute an offensive failure — and finished with Auburn's highest tackling grade (82.1).

"Solid, but he's got a lot to learn and help with — because that star position's got to help get us lined up a lot," Freeze said of Wooden. "(Samford) threw a lot at you now, I'll say that. Stuff that we really hadn't seen."

Freeze floated the idea of sophomore cornerback J.D. Rhym working some at nickel, which could allow Wooden so slide back and see the field some at safety if Kaufman plays.

Rhym missed the first two games of the season while recovering from a lower-body injury from the offseason, but he returned with a bang Saturday against Samford. The sophomore snatched his first career interception in the second quarter.

“I’m glad to see him out there again,” safety Jaylin Simpson said after the game. “He’s been hurt. He’s been through a lot. Just glad to see him out there and for his first game back when he’s actually playing, going in there and getting a pick. That’s what I know he can do. It’s been hurting all of us that he can’t play.”

The Tigers are now one of only 24 teams in the country with at least five interceptions on the season, a trend they'll hope to continue Saturday. Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman is top 20 nationally in attempts this season, already with 909 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions through three games.

"To get some turnovers in these games, particularly on the road, would be extremely helpful if we can take care of the ball," Freeze said. "We’ve got to continue to work on that. Turnovers would play a huge role if we could pick off a few of those in this game."

The health of senior cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett will be a factor in the Tigers’ secondary equation, too. After returning to school in hopes of being part of one of the SEC’s best coverage duos with D.J. James, Pritchett has yet to play this season while dealing with an ankle injury.

True freshman Kayin Lee has been strong stepping into that spot, but Pritchett’s potential return in the team’s first SEC matchup would be significant for Auburn’s depth in the secondary. He'd look to add to Auburn's success generating takeaways at defensive back this year.

"We've got to have two deep to function, and we're just trying to figure out what the best combination is there," Freeze said. "And we're not real sure, just yet, what that looks like."

Auburn begins SEC play this Saturday at Texas A&M, with kickoff set for 11 a.m. CDT on ESPN. Auburn had previously won four straight in College Station before losing 20-3 in 2021.

[Paladin 3,307]