The picture at wide receiver will unblur itself for Auburn football this coming Saturday.
Will Hastings, who finished the season finale with a game-high six receptions and 117 yards, will be out for the remainder of the spring with a torn ACL. Eli Stove, who head coach Gus Malzahn said will be back for the start of the season, has joined Hastings with a torn ACL.
Though his offense will be without key receivers, Malzahn said that he is comfortable with the athletes he has on the roster.
"We feel
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Ryan Davis, who has practiced with a wrap on his knee, is recovering from a shoulder injury, and Kyle Davis is gone.
During the A-Day scrimmage, Auburn will be forced to get production from lower-string receivers.
Though Davis and Darius Slayton will be returning along with the lengthy Nate Craig-Myers, second-string slot receiver Griffin King will be moved up to take Hastings' spot. With Stove’s absence, running back Devan Barrett has permanently moved to receiver to take over in Stove's speed-sweep formations.
MORE: Tigers RB Devan Barrett moving to receiver
Another question is where receiver Noah Igbinoghene will be lining up after moving to cornerback for spring scrimmages.
Cumulatively, 30.6 percent of Auburn’s 2017 receiving yards will be absent because of injury.
Hoping to aid in making up for that loss is Marquis McClain, a rising sophomore who Auburn fans best remember as the recipient of a long pass from Malik Willis in Auburn's home blowout of Georgia in November.
McClain has flashed quickness and potential, and with the depleted depth chart, spring might be the time for a breakthrough.
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“You can see that the light is clicking on, and really on special teams,” Malzahn said of McClain. “A lot of times, you can look at special teams, and it tells you a little or a lot about whether offense or defense is where they’re at. He’s really showed up big in special teams this spring.”
The corps will feature one newcomer, however, with freshman Shedrick Jackson. Jackson is a three-star wide receiver from the class of 2018 who is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 67 receiver in the country.
King will join Jackson and tight
Malzahn said that the passing offense has enough depth to move forward, and the tight end position will play a bigger role.
"The good thing is we've got quite a bit of depth," Malzahn said. "You look at last year at this time, we didn't have a whole lot of wide receiver bodies because most of the guys that played were true freshmen coming in.
"We do have more depth, and we also have the ability to use our tight ends a little bit split out.”
Regardless of injury, the development of Auburn’s offense will be on display for A-Day.
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