The Auburn Tigers’ quarterbacks, wide receivers, and offensive line are getting a lot of attention, but the defensive backfield is an underrated group.
Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze had his season-opening press conference on Wednesday, and he was asked about the Tigers’ secondary. Auburn returns a lot of talent from last season and made some key additions in the portal. How are they all going to fit?
“Well you’re glad you have more depth, where you’re not feeling like there’s a drop-off when you rotate people or have an injury,” Freeze said. “I think every team at this level would be excited to have that type of depth and we do.”
Last season, the Auburn secondary was led by three fairly young corners in sophomore Kayin Lee, freshman Jay Crawford, and junior Champ Anthony. The two starting safeties for the Tigers were senior Jerrin Thompson and Freshman Kaleb Harris, with Keionte Scott manning the nickel.
Thompson graduated and left for the NFL, and Scott transferred twice in the offseason: first to Houston and then to Miami. Anthony was knocked out for the back half of the 2024 season following a gruesome leg injury against Arkansas. However, coach Freeze seemed confident that Anthony could return to play a part for the Tigers this season.
