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A spirit that is not afraid

'That's what they came here for': Freshmen making early impact for Auburn defense

<p>Christian Tutt (6) celebrates an interception during Auburn football vs. Southern Miss on Sept. 29, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.</p>

Christian Tutt (6) celebrates an interception during Auburn football vs. Southern Miss on Sept. 29, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.

With a fourth-quarter strip sack of Jarrett Stidham, Southern Miss took possession, down just eight, with all the momentum of a muggy Jordan-Hare Stadium swung to its side. 

It took just two plays for an Auburn freshman to thwart the attempt at a game-tying drive.

True freshman defensive back Christian Tutt intercepted the second-down pass of Jack Abraham, all but locking in a 24-13 Auburn victory over the Golden Eagles last Saturday.

Tutt is one of four youngsters in the defensive backfield that has seen his role quickly take shape in the young season. Tutt rotates at corner and nickel, while true freshman safeties Smoke Monday and Jamien Sherwood work in tandem with starters Jeremiah Dinson and Daniel Thomas.

Auburn knew all along how quickly the trio would be prodded into action. 

"I mean, that's what they came here for: to play as true freshmen,” Dinson said. “We needed them; we told them in fall camp, we told them in the spring, to be honest with you, that we're going to need them somewhere down the season. I mean, it's good those guys are making plays, it's good those guys are playing early to get their feet wet, and they're doing a good job."

Each freshman has made waves with his own unique impact through five games.

Monday is quick and physical, showing ability to track fast receivers and backs sideline-to-sideline. While he’s been efficient in coverage, the Atlanta native’s pair of sacks — tied for best on the team — stick out, particularly his game-winning sack of Washington quarterback Jake Browning in the team’s opener.

“Smoke is a good guy in terms of coverage,” Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said. “He’s got a lot of range, he’s a good blitzer. He plays the game with a high motor, and he’s still learning… but he’s very teachable, and he’s getting better every week.”

Tutt boasts similar heroics with his game-sealing interception last Saturday, despite a position change in the offseason.

“Christian is a little bit different in that he was at corner for the spring practice and early fall camp,” Steele said. “Then we move him to star, so he really doesn’t have that much time under his belt at star. But he’s progressing nicely. He’s very, very intelligent. He’s highly competitive, and that’s the thing that probable makes it easy.”

Sherwood, who burned his redshirt Saturday after playing in his fifth game of the season, is the only true freshman besides Tutt to record an interception this year. Through five games, Sherwood has the most tackles of any first-year Tiger on the team.

“Sherwood is a really, really smart guy,” Steele said. “He's a very good tackler, and he's physical — he's a big guy who's physical, plays with good balance and body control.”

In addition, sophomore defensive back Jordyn Peters has been unstoppable on special teams, blocking 2.5 punts through the first five games and recovering a muffed punt fumble against Southern Miss. Defensively, Peters has been the first nickelback on the field in the past two games.

"Well, he's a smart guy,” Steele said of Peters. “He's got more football under his belt than people realize that he's got. He's been in the big games and the big moments, so it's not too big for him. And he's still young — there's a learning curve there. But he's progressing nicely."

With the exception of converted receiver Noah Igbinoghene starting at corner, Auburn returned all veterans in its secondary entering the season. Still, the position group was commonly viewed as the weakest link in an otherwise dominant defense.

The addition of Tutt, Sherwood, Monday and Peters into consistent rotation may have been the final pieces needed to complete Steele’s puzzle: Auburn’s defense is fifth nationally in opposing third-down conversions, eighth in points allowed and already has more interceptions (6) than it did all last season (5).

“We've made a commitment on the back end, which is probably pretty rare,” Steele said. “None of those three guys (Tutt, Sherwood, Monday) are starters, actually, but they're playing early in games, and they're playing often, simply because they deserve to play and they're good players. 

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“There's still a learning curve there; each time we come off a drive, there's something for Christian, there's something for Jamien, there's something for Smoke that we've got to go back over and make sure they understand. But, they're progressing at a high rate. They're still young; they still make mistakes, but they're good football players."


Nathan King | Sports Editor

Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.


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