With a bye week to soak in a 31-16 road win over Ole Miss, Auburn’s young corps is realizing its collective potential.
Combining for 57 percent of Auburn’s offensive yards on the season, the freshman class provided a midseason spark with 368 combined yards against the Rebels. In addition, 15 of the Tigers’ 25 offensive touchdowns have come from freshmen.
Following three losses on the season, including one at home to Tennessee, the nicknamed youth of Auburn’s roster has grown closer entering the bye week.
“If you see one freshman, you’re probably seeing all of the freshmen,” running back Shaun Shivers said.
Shivers’ 45 yards on 10 carries in Oxford trailed fellow freshman JaTarvious Whitlow’s career-high 170 yards. Seth Williams led with 83 yards by air on two receptions, while Anthony Schwartz had 16 yards receiving and rushing.
Defensively, safety Jamien Sherwood provided life with a sack on Rebel quarterback Jordan Ta’amu and an earlier interception against Alabama State. Opposite Sherwood, safety Smoke Monday has two sacks on the season, including one in Auburn’s season-opening win over then-No. 6 Washington.
Filling the void in the defensive backfield, both Sherwood and Monday said their competitive drives are complemented by the pair working together.
“We get each other going,” Monday said.
Despite the freshman class playing in just eight games, head coach Gus Malzahn said the group has lost touch with its freshman moniker.
“This is the most freshmen we’ve had make an impact since I have been here,” Malzahn said. “They’re not just playing; they’re starting to make plays on a consistent basis.”
Schwartz has managed to provide speed both through the air and on the ground with 13 carries for 138 yards and 12 catches for 262 yards. Whitlow leads the team in rushing with 100 carries for 626 yards, adding on nine catches for 69 yards.
Backing up Whitlow, Shivers has added 212 rushing yards on 37 carries. Combined, the trio of Whitlow, Shivers and Schwartz average 6.5 rushing yards per carry.
In addition to Shivers’ contributions in the backfield, Malzahn said the trio of Shivers, Williams and Schwartz has opened up the offensive playbook.
“I think what it does right now is it gives our coaches in all three phases a chance to get the best plan moving forward — whoever touches the ball and who plays,” Malzahn said. “We just talked about those guys are getting better as a collective group. That’s real encouraging.”
Malzahn added that Whitlow, who left during the third quarter against the Rebels, will be looking to heal up during the open week to be able to practice next week.
With a mindset of providing whatever was asked of them, Schwartz said the freshman class came in with a collectively strong work ethic.
“We just came in here and got right to work,” Schwartz said. “We always work all week and prepare as starters. We do whatever the coaches want us to do and so we have a good role on the team.”
And with the combination of Schwartz and Williams, both by way of max speed and vertical, Auburn’s offense could have found answers for success moving forward.
“I watched Seth and Schwartz in practice every day. They're really good players,” Shivers said. “We watched them like, yeah, this is going to be a good group. Everybody that came in as freshmen are pretty talented. We're just bringing an impact to the program.”
Now just one game away from bowl eligibility, Auburn will return to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Nov. 3 for a matchup with Texas A&M.
"They're really good players,” Shivers said of his fellow freshmen. “We watched them like, yeah, this is going to be a good group. Everybody that came in as freshmen are pretty talented. We're just bringing an impact to the program.”
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