Hugh Freeze is happy about Auburn's secondary depth
Fall practice is underway at Auburn, and a lot of attention is on the 2025 edition of the Tigers. Auburn fans are hoping for a big year that results in the program making strides in the right direction. The Tigers have had four straight losing seasons, which is something the faithful are not accustomed to.
While there are questions around this football team, a position that the Tigers do have plenty of experience and talent is in the secondary. Auburn returns Kayin Lee and Jay Crawford at the cornerback position while Champ Anthony also returns to the Tigers after playing well in 2024 before suffering a season-ending leg injury in the Tigers' SEC opener with Arkansas.
Head coach Hugh Freeze is looking forward to having Anthony back.
'We might limit some of (Anthony's) reps, but it gives us some flexibility because some of those guys can play multiple positions', Freeze said of Anthony as camp opened this week.
Auburn also returns key contributors to both safety positions with Kaleb Harris and Sylvester Smith. Both players gained valuable experience last season playing as freshmen. The Tigers also added some depth to the secondary with the transfer portal and the 2025 recruiting class. From the transfer portal they added Raion Strader (Miami-Ohio) and Rayshawn Pleasant (Tulane) at the corner back position. At safety, Auburn added Taye Seymore from Georgia Tech and signed safety Eric Winters out of Enterprise High School. It is clear the Tigers will have depth in the secondary this season.
'You're glad you have more depth where you're not somewhat feeling like there's a drop off, when you do rotate people, or if you do have an injury," Freeze said. "I think every team at this level would be excited to have the type of depth that we do."
He also acknowledged that, despite the depth, they do need to figure out who plays where.
'Now we've got to figure out what their seat is on the bus. Who are the best nickels, and who are the best safeties, and who are the best corners," Freeze said. "I know we have increased our speed and our depth. So that's exciting to us, and now we've got to figure out exactly all the pieces of where they go.'
Last season the Tigers ranked ninth in the SEC last season giving up 213 yards passing per game. The secondary will need help, and an improvement in their pass rushing ability will help. As good as the group is, if the front cannot create pressure the defensive backs will not be able to hold their coverage.
Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Phillip on Twitter @PJordanSEC
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