After earning preseason All-SEC Second Team honors, it seemed star safety Robenson Therezie would only build on a stellar junior season where he led the team in interceptions.
But an eligibility issue in the preseason limited his practice reps leading up to the day before the season opener versus Arkansas.
Once the issue was resolved, Therezie put it behind him.
"It's in the past," Therezie said. "I'm just focused on getting back to the old me. God blessed me and gave me another opportunity, so I'm going to take advantage of it."
Even with reduced practice time, it did not take long for the senior from Miami to make an impact in the first game, causing an interception in the second half.
His impact was something defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson said he thought the defense needed.
"It was just great effort," Johnson said. "He broke through. We'd run that thing three times before, and nobody else got that kind of pressure off it. He did. A big play in the game at the time. The game was getting kind of stagnant. I thought that was a huge play when he hit that kid and caused that interception."
Head coach Gus Malzahn also emphasized how important Therezie is to the Auburn defense.
"He's an impact player, there's no doubt," Malzahn said. "Last year, he made a lot of big plays for us."
Despite his small stature, Therezie's physicality is perhaps his best attribute, according to safety Jermaine Whitehead.
"He's a real physical dude," Whitehead said. "You couldn't tell he's 5-foot-9, 205 (pounds). He believes he weighs bigger than that. He plays bigger than that. Hitting has always been a part of his game. He's an asset to our team and definitely an asset to his position and our defense."
While Therezie has always been physical, his coverage skills required time to return, but Therezie said he thinks he is turning a corner with improving his coverage.
"I feel like my coverage skills have gotten better, [especially with] pressuring [other receivers]," Therezie said. "But everything else is starting to come back to me (like) it was last year."
Though the Auburn defense has improved overall, the pass defense has been exposed recently, especially against South Carolina, where the Gamecocks passed for more than 400 yards on Auburn's secondary.
Therezie said he knew South Carolina would present a challenge, but never lost faith in his team.
"At the end of the day, we knew it was going to be a tough one," Therezie said. "We knew what to expect and once we got close, we knew how to find a way to win."
Therezie said he knows there is still work to do if the Tigers hope to make it into the first College Football Playoff.
"We're working on the stuff that we need to be successful as a whole defense," Therezie said. "It's not about the individuals, but when we come in to our meetings after the game, we talk about what we do as a whole and how we have to improve as a whole entire defensive unit."
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