Naturally, the season following a SEC West championship, defeats of top-ranked rivals Georgia and Alabama and a New Year’s Six Bowl appearance will be highly anticipated.
This anticipation will reach its peak as Gus Malzahn’s squad returns to action Saturday in the annual intra-squad scrimmage, but with a few question marks that are surrounding the team.
Who will lead the new-look offensive line?
One of the big questions surrounding Auburn heading into A-Day is the shake-up at offensive line. The Tigers graduated four starters from last year’s Joe Moore Award finalist unit — Austin Golson, Casey Dunn, Braden Smith and Darius James.
Any group that loses four starters will have growing pains, but Auburn might not be in that bad of shape. In 2017, Auburn had seven different linemen start games and three of them are back for the 2018 campaign. This will make the overhaul easier for new offensive line coach J.B. Grimes as he starts his second stint at Auburn.
Prince Tega Wanogho is one of the key contributors from the 2017 unit and has shown improvement throughout the spring as he tries to take on the leadership role for the new-look offensive line.
“I see myself making great improvements," Wanogho said. "So I feel like now is the right time to take the next step and be a leader for the younger guys coming up."
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Wanogho's head coach knows the importance of having a leader on his offensive line.
“Prince's ceiling is very high,” Gus Malzahn said. “He's very talented. He does have experience, and he's a guy that we have challenged to take that next step. And this past week, he's been a different player. And not just a different player, but he's starting to be more vocal and starting to be more a leader. And that's what Coach Grimes is looking for. He's looking for leaders up front. I've been very encouraged with that.”
Who will step up for the secondary?
Another position that looks depleted at first but has promise is the secondary.
Auburn lost five players from the secondary and three starters from the 2017 squad after Carlton Davis declared early for the draft. Safeties Tray Matthews and Stephen Roberts graduated, thus leaving a hole in both safety slots.
Auburn is relying on junior Jeremiah Dinson to fill the void at one of the safety slots. Dinson played the nickel in all 14 games last season but has been moved to safety in part to his ability to lead on the field.
"Every really good secondary that I've ever seen always had a point guy back there that could make the calls," Malzahn said. "We believe Dinson can definitely do that. He's like a coach on the field."
Dinson looks to lead a mix of young talent and veterans such as Daniel Thomas, Javaris Davis, Jamel Dean and Jordyn Peters, along with incoming freshmen Smoke Monday, Christian Tutt and Jamien Sherwood, who have raised eyebrows in the spring.
“What really helped us is the three young freshmen in Tutt, Sherwood and Monday coming in and picking things up very quickly, it allows us to really move the checkerboard around,” Kevin Steele said.
Who will replace Jeff Holland’s nine sacks?
There is one position group that Auburn does not need to worry about and that is the defensive line. Auburn’s defensive front was one of the best in the country getting to the quarterback.
A big part of that success was thanks to Jeff Holland. Holland recorded nine sacks and 12 tackles for loss on his way to first-team All-SEC honors.
"T.D. has a tremendous skill set and can affect others, on his side of the ball and the other side of the ball," Steele said. "And then Big Kat, his ascension has been rapid over the last two days. The light switch came on."
Coach Steele has moved Big Kat Bryant to the buck position, previously held by Holland. Bryant is being joined by T.D. Moultry at the buck and Steele has total confidence in the two to replace Holland.
"T.D. and Big Kat really are battling it out this year," Auburn defensive lineman Marlon Davidson said. "T.D. is a different guy because he literally only knows one speed. We'll be doing a walk-through, and he goes like it's the first rep of a ballgame. It's just that fast.”
How will Auburn handle the crowded receiving corps?
Auburn’s passing game should not skip a beat from a historic campaign in 2017 with every single receiver returning. Even with all the receivers returning, Auburn signed four four-star recruits --Matthew Hill, Anthony Schwartz, Seth Williams and early enrollee Shedrick Jackson.
Injuries to Eli Stove and Will Hastings have given opportunities to all four freshmen to make an impact as soon as they get to campus.
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"You sign guys these days, and you anticipate they'll get an opportunity to play early," Chip Lindsey said. "A lot of them want that anyway. Obviously, sometimes the situation creates more opportunity than you anticipated maybe. That's going to create some opportunities for those guys and also for some guys that are here right now that maybe weren't getting as many reps.”
The incoming freshman are not the only players with the ability to make the receiving situation complicated. Noah Igbinoghene recently made the move to DB, but after the injuries he has been splitting time with both offense and defense. Sophomore Marquis McClain is also ready to make a splash splitting time with Darius Slayton and Nate Craig-Myers during the spring.
“Marquis is doing better,” Lindsey said. “He’s getting good. I think he’s made some progress and done some good things.”
All these questions will not likely be answered on A-Day, but Auburn fans hope it will bring some clarity to these uncertainties.
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