After setting an Auburn single-season record for receptions in 2017 (84 catches for 815 yards and five touchdowns), there's no doubt that senior Ryan Davis will be a main focal point of the Tigers' offense heading into 2018.
With major injuries to fellow wide receivers Will Hastings and Eli Stove prior to fall camp, Auburn will look to a group of talented, yet mainly unproven underclassmen to fill the void.
"To get back out there with the guys and compete, it was a great day," Davis said.
With the start of fall camp, expectations for the 2018 Tigers are high, with the preseason coaches poll pinning Auburn as the No. 10 team in the nation. A game against a highly touted Washington team to kick off the season will quickly put the Tigers and their receiving corps to the test, but don't expect Davis and company to be unprepared.
"All fall camp, we just have to focus up and do what we do so we can be prepared the best we can," Davis said.
While Davis believes the Tigers will be ready for their neutral site opener against the Huskies, the star receiver is more focused on team progression than individual stats.
"You just have to put your head down and work harder than you did before," Davis said. "However the cards play, just play your role and hopefully things happen from there, however it comes you just have to make the best of it."
The duo of Hastings and Stove (ACLs) did participate in drills on day one of fall camp, no timetable for their returns have been set and Davis and the Auburn coaching staff believes in a talented group of young wide receivers to fill those roles.
"They're all really talented, they can all catch the ball very well," head coach Gus Malzahn said.
But it wasn't only Malzahn who took notice of Auburn's talented group of freshmen.
"You can just tell his speed is different from everybody else's, I like what i saw from him today, he's going to continue to get better with more repetition." Davis said of four-star recruit Anthony Schwartz, who many believe to be the fastest recruit in the country after he set the World Youth Record for the 100m in high school.
Among the many to receive praise from the senior were top-100 recruit Matthew Hill; 5-foot-7 speedster Shaun Shivers; Devan Barrett, who took reps with Kodi Burns' receivers Friday after being a running back last season; and deep target Seth Williams.
There is no doubt that the losses Stove and Hastings will be felt in 2018, and with no timetable for their return, Auburn and its collection of young wideouts will have to step into roles quickly before they face Washington in their third straight game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game on Sept. 1.
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