Inconsistency and recent injuries have forced Auburn's offense to use a committee based rotation to compensate for a lack of standout performers at the wide receiver position.
Jaylon Denson's season ending knee injury against LSU further thinned depth in a position where Auburn's coaches are searching for improved performances.
"That's a big loss for us, (Denson)'s really been a leader for us," offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. "He plays a lot of snaps and does a lot of things, not just making plays but he does a lot of things that people might not see. Moving forward, guys are just going to have to pick up the slack."
Inconsistent performances from Auburn's receivers have prevented the Tigers from establishing permanent starters at the position.
"I don't really know if we have a go to guy at receiver, we just use who is hot at the moment," Lashlee said. "I think that'll emerge and change over time. But right now it's a team and by committee approach and we could care less who is making the catches along as someone is making the plays."
Stepping in after Denson's injury, freshman Tony Stevens reeled in the first two catches of his career against LSU.
Lashlee said that the Tigers' upcoming bye week will be critical to getting the freshman more involved in the offense's game plan.
"He had a couple catches and now we've got two weeks to really get him more reps and Tony is a guy we're counting on to be in the rotation," Lashlee said. "He and Marcus Davis are two young guys we feel like can help us win and help us win now so I expect bigger things from Tony moving forward."
In addition to Stevens and Davis, Lashlee said that sophomore wide receiver Melvin Ray and junior tight end Brandon Fulse will become more involved in upcoming weeks.
"You're another injury or two away from being even thinner but you know Melvin Ray will have to step up," Lashlee said. "I thought Brandon Fulse did a nice job the other night. We've got some other guys that we can mix and match but I feel good with what we're going with right now."
Sophomore receiver Sammie Coates continued his impressive start to the season by reeling in four catches for 139 yards against LSU.
Lashlee said that Coates' confidence is a product of his offseason work with wide receivers coach Dameyune Craig.
"Sammie's been the one making plays right now and he's got the confidence," Lashlee said. "He came in confident and he worked so hard this summer."
Like Auburn's other receivers, Lashlee expects that Coates will improve as he sees more playing time this season. You know he's not a guy who's played a lot of ball and caught a lot of footballs in big meaningful games," Lashlee said. "So the more and more experience he gets, just like Ricardo Louis and all those guys, the better and better we think they'll play."
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