Auburn Tigers 2018 Football Preview

Auburn Tigers 2018 Football Preview

Opening Statement: Gus Malzahn has gone from the guy that everyone wanted fired to the guy who now everyone believes in, and it took one short year for that transformation to happen. Auburn won the SEC West last season, but eventually fell to Georgia in the SEC title game before falling to UCF in a shocker during the bowl season. That said, the Tigers are still loaded up for the 2018 campaign, and should be in the field to compete for an SEC and national title once again.

Breakdown Offense: It took Jarrett Stidham some time to warm himself up and shake off the rust last season after sitting out a year after transferring from Baylor, but once he managed to get into the groove, he was basically what most people expected him to be. Stidham passed for 3158 yards and 18 TDs to just 6 INTs last season, and there is no reason to expect the TD totals to increase this fall as a junior. In a weak QB class for the 2019 NFL Draft, some are projecting him as the 2nd QB off the board next April. He managed to complete a solid 66.5% of his passes last fall, and as I said, we should see a more focused and locked in player from the start this fall. Malik Willis figures in as his primary backup, with Joey Gatewood holding on as the 3rd QB.
Kam Martin rushed for 453 yards last fall, but now figures as the starter out of the spring. Kerryon Johnson and Kamryn Pettway are both gone now, and Martin is the leader by far. JaTarvious Whitlow is the backup as of now, with Devan Barrett, Malik Miller, and freshman Asa Martin providing depth.
Chandler Cox returns as the H-Back, and will be backed up by Spencer Nigh, John Samuel Shenker, and Jalen Harris.
Speaking of Harris, he projects as the starting TE this season after catching just one pass a year ago. Sal Cannella and Shenker provide some depth there.
Ryan Davis led the team with 84 receptions last season, and will return as the Z receiver. Darius Slayton will return as the X receiver after catching 29 passes last fall, and Will Hastings is the SLOT receiver as he comes off a 26 catch season. Nate Craig-Myers is the Big Slot receiver after catching 16 passes last fall. Shedrick Jackson, a freshman, will back up at the X, Eli Stove and Devan Barrett back up at the Flanker, Griffin King and Noah Igbinoghene back up at the SLOT, and Marquis McCain and Cannella add depth at the Big SLOT.
The line is set and deep coming out of the spring. Prince Tega Wanogho (LT), Marquel Harrell (LG), Kaleb Kim (C), Mike Horton (RG), and Austin Troxell (RT) are your post spring starters. Bailey Sharp, Prince Sammons, and Calvin Ashley provide depth at tackle, while Brodarious Hamm and Tashawn Manning provide depth at OG. Nick Brahms and Tucker Brown are the backups at C.

Breakdown Defense: The Auburn defense really turned a major corner last season, and was one of the best in the nation. Expect that trend to continue this fall.The Tigers allowed just 18.5 points per game, while allowing just 182.4 yards passing and 137 yards rushing per game.
Marlon Davidson moves from a rotational guy to starting DE after finishing with 6 TFLs a year ago. He will be backed up by Nick Coe and Gary Walker. Coe was solid in a rotational role himself last season, finishing with 4.5 TFLs. The hybrid BUCK spot will be manned by sophomore TD Moultry, who finished with 2.5 TFLs as a rotational player last fall. Markaviest "Big Cat" Bryant will be backing him up after a solid freshman campaign last season. Dontavious Russell is the starting NT after providing 6.5 TFLs last season. Tyrone Truesdale and Jaunta'Vius Johnson will provide depth there. Truesdale played in 9 games as a freshman last fall. Derrick Brown returns as a junior this fall to start at DT. He finished 2nd on the team with 9 TFLs in 2017. Andrew Williams and Alec Jackson will provide depth there.
Jeff Holland has moved on from the LB corps, but there is still plenty of talent left over from last season's successful unit. Darrell Williams and Montavious Atkinson will start at the OLB spots. Williams finished with 57 tackles last season, with Atkinson recording 43. Chandler Wooten and Richard McBryde will provide some depth outside. Deshaun Davis is the returning starter in the middle after leading the team with 82 tackles a year ago. KJ Britt is the backup as we head into summer.
The secondary was rock solid last season, but lost a couple of important parts in Carlton Davis and Stephen Davis to go along with key reserve Tra Matthews. Javaris Davis and Jamel Dean are the CBs heading into fall camp. Davis finished with 6 PBUs last fall, while Dean was lock down good with 8. Noah Igbinoghene, Jayvaughn Myers, and Traivon Leonard back up Davis, while John Broussard and Malcolm Askew provide depth behind Dean. Daniel Thomas returns at BS after recording 35 tackles last season, while Jeremiah Dinson is the FS. Dinson recorded 47 tackles last fall and recorded 4 PBUs. The Safety spots are one of the few spots where there is not a ton of depth returning for the Tigers, and Dinson was injured during spring camp, but he is expected to be healthy for the start of the fall camp. Jamien Sherwood, a true freshman, is expected to back him up. Quindarious Monday, another true freshman, could be backing up Thomas.

Breakdown Special Teams: RS freshman Anders Carlson is expected to take over at PK from Daniel Carlson, who has moved on. Anders has not attempted a kick, obviously, so this is all about getting him broken in at this point. Aidan Marshall returns at Punter, but averaged just 39.37 yards per punt last fall. Ian Shannon backs him up, and was given some opportunities last season, but failed to impress in 14 punts of his own.
Igbinoghene will return kicks once again after averaging more than 23 yards per return last fall, while Ryan Davis replaces Stephen Davis as the primary punt return man, He averaged 21 yards per return on just 2 returns last fall.

Final Analysis: Auburn is basically still loaded across the board. If there were any real questions heading into fall camp, it would be dealing with depth at Safety, and breaking in the new kicker, and of course, the punting game could use some work. Other than those issues, the Tigers are load to go out and defend their SEC West championship in 2018, and make another run for the national title. Gus Malzahn should be free of any of the pressures he had a year ago to start the season, even with the letdown loss to UCF in the bowl game still lingering a bit. In short, it should be another exiciting season on the Plains.