Auburn Football Preview

Football season is finally here. It's been a while since I've made a post, mainly because I haven't had anything to post about. The months of May, June, and July are absolutely miserable for sports junkies like me. That dreadful period has finally come to an end, and we are officially less than one week away from GAMEDAY.

I am here to talk about my opinions on our team this year. I am dangerously close to having fully convinced myself that we are going to win nine games, which is probably a longshot. But hey, what kind of fan would I be if I wasn't at least a little bit delusional. I'll give a quick rundown of my thoughts on our offense, our defense, and I will wrap up with my record prediction.

OFFENSE:

Lots of returners on this side of the ball, which I think will fare well for us. I was very adamant following last season that I did NOT want Payton Thorne running our offense again this season. Nevertheless, he will once again be our starting quarterback. Am I happy about this? Ehh. Am I going to trust that Hugh Freeze is putting the QB out there that will give us the best chance to win games? Absolutely. I am really hoping that our revamped receiving core will make things easy for him. He doesn't have to be an elite quarterback for us to win games. He doesn't have to be a world-beater. He just has to get the ball to our playmakers and let them do their thing. This is commonly known in football as a "game manager." If Thorne can embrace the game manager role this year, I think he will be much more successful. Not necessarily because he himself has improved, but because the guys around him have improved.

You may be asking, "Will, who might those playmakers be?" I'll start with our running backs.

Jarquez Hunter. After serving a suspension early last year and getting off to a slow start, he finished the year on a very solid note. If we can get that second half of the season Jarquez for this entire year, we will have one of the best rushing attacks in the SEC. I am also very high on Damari Alston and Jeremiah Cobb, so I am confident that we will have no issues running the ball this year.

However, as we all know, running the ball hasn't really been our problem here recently. We haven't had a sufficient passing attack since Jarrett Stidham led us to the SEC championship in 2017. I am really hoping that our additions at the receiver position will break the curse of Auburn passing. I actually would like to go through each of our receivers that I think will make an impact this year, because I am very excited about this group:

• I'll start with freshman phenom, Cam Coleman. Remember the name. This kid is going to be special. I got to watch him at a scrimmage me and my dad got to attend, and he does NOT look like a freshman. He is going to be an immediate impact-player. He's a "throw it up and go get it" kind of receiver. I expect him to be one of the leaders of this position group.

  
  

• We added Penn State transfer KeAndre Lambert-Smith late in the portal period, and I think he will more than likely lead the team in receiving yards this year. Quick, shifty guy that can get open and make plays in space. He unfortunately sat out the scrimmage with an ankle injury, but he should be good to go game one. I want us to get him the ball early and often.

  
  

• Georgia State transfer Robert Lewis is another portal addition that I expect to put up solid numbers this year. He is an upperclassman with lots of experience at the college level, and I'm hearing that he is probably our best route runner. He should excel in the slot position.

  
  

• Although he's not technically a receiver, I want to go ahead and group tight end Rivaldo Fairweather into this group. He led the team in receiving yards last year, and while I hope this is not the case again this year, I do expect him to put up great numbers again. He's exactly what you want out of the tight end spot. Sure hands and can catch the ball in traffic.

There are other receivers that may see the field some. Cal transfer Sam Jackson is a name to watch out for, Caleb Burton might see a ball come his way here and there. Those four guys I listed above are the ones that I think will help elevate our passing attack to the next level.

Our offensive line is sort of a question mark at this point. We brought back center Connor Lew, who will be a great leader for this group. We've brought in left tackle Percy Lewis from Mississippi State, and he is an absolute UNIT. I've heard they've been trying him some at guard during fall camp, so we will see where he ends up at. We'll see how this group looks after the first couple of games, but as of right now, I don't know too much about them.

Overall, I expect our offense to take a step forward this year. Maybe I'm crazy, but I am actually fairly confident in our guys. Time will tell.

DEFENSE:

This will be the side of the ball that we hang our hat on. I am VERY high on our defense. We've returned a few leaders in Eugene Asante and Keionte Scott, and we've added some pieces around them that will help this group give opposing teams fits on offense.

I'll start with the secondary. Lots of turnover in this group. We lost Jaylin Simpson, DJ James, and Nehemiah Pritchett to the NFL, so it will be up to some new faces to lead this group... sort of. Kayin Lee will be CB1. He looked very solid in the action he got last year, so I expect him to thrive in this larger role. Keionte Scott will be the other corner. I'm not sure how I feel about this. He was very good in his role as a nickelback, but he apparently wanted a change of scenery. He got a trial run in the bowl game, and I'll be honest, I wasn't really all that impressed. Granted, that was his first action at corner, so hopefully having all offseason to adjust has allowed him to get more comfortable in this new role. As for the safeties, we added senior Jerrin Thompson from Texas, and I think he will be a great leader for this group.

The linebackers will be led by Eugene Asante. He was awesome this past year. A true playmaker that just always seems to be around the ball. Austin Keys is also a returner that should make a big impact this year. I'm hearing that he may be battling an injury going into week one, so we might see someone else out there to start the year. Once healthy, I expect Keys to be one of the key components of this defense. He was really good late in the year last year.

Our defensive line is the biggest question mark at this point. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure who will lead this group. I'm thinking that Indiana transfer Philip Blidi and returner Jayson Jones will lead the interior defensive line. Sophomore Keldric Faulk will hold down the edge. I'm expecting a big leap from him this year. Another guy to keep an eye out for will be Jalen McLeod in the buck spot (sort of a linebacker/defensive line hybrid). I had some concerns about this group following spring, but they looked fantastic in the scrimmage. We will know whether or not the hype is real after the first couple of games.

Again, this side of the ball should be very solid this year. If not, it's going to be a long year.

I'll quickly mention that we have nothing to worry about on special teams. We are returning kicker Alex McPherson, who was literally perfect last year. He made every field goal and extra point that he attempted. He has been battling a sickness throughout fall camp, so we might actually see true freshman Towns McGough early this season. If I remember correctly, he went a perfect 7/7 in the A-Day game, including a 58-yarder. So even if McPherson is out to start the year, we are in good hands.

Alright, now into my record prediction. I think the floor for this team is 7-5. This is a pretty high floor, but we are returning a lot of experience, and in my mind, experience=high floors. We know pretty well what we are going to get out of most of our guys. The ceiling I have set is 9-3. The way I see it, we would have to go undefeated at home and steal one at Kentucky to achieve this record. This is very doable. However, the reality is, we will probably lose one of the two toss-ups at home against either Texas A&M or Oklahoma. So, my official record prediction is...

8-4. This record looks very boring, however, it is a major step back in the right direction. We as fans must be patient. This staff is recruiting very well, and if they continue to do so, we will undeniably compete for championships again here soon. In the meantime, we have to get back to being a nationally respected program, and an 8-4 season will do just that.

I could not be more excited to get this season underway. I will be back next week with a reaction to our season opener against Alabama A&M.