All of a sudden, Auburn has plenty of competition for its starting punter job.
For the first time since the Outback Bowl, Auburn fully updated its online roster, revealing both new and recognizable faces have entered the battle for Auburn's punting job heading into the 2020 season.
Most notably, 2017 starting punter Aidan Marshall is back with the Tigers. The walk-on left the team early in the 2018 season after losing the starting job to Arryn Siposs but remained enrolled at Auburn.
A former All-State performer from Winchester, Va., Marshall beat out Ian Shannon in 2017 as Auburn's starting punter from Week 5 onward. Through 11 game appearances in his Auburn career, Marshall holds the program's 10th-best punting average at 39.2 yards per kick.
He pinned eight kicks inside the opposing 20-yard line during the 2017 season. In an SEC West-clinching Iron Bowl, Marshall helped Auburn's defense maintain a stranglehold on No. 1 Alabama, as he downed the Crimson Tide at their own 16, 14 and 2-yard line during the Tigers' 26-14 win.
In a road win over Texas A&M in 2017, Marshall was named SEC Freshman of the Week after he punted five times for a 47.4-yard average. His career-best performance against the Aggies included a 70-yard mortar of a punt, good for the sixth-longest in Auburn history.
Marshall's proven success in an Auburn uniform and familiarity with the staff may give him an early edge on the depth chart, but he'll still have to fend off a trio of other contenders.
Aussie rules kicker Oscar Chapman, from the same Prokick Austrailia program that produced Siposs, committed to Auburn earlier this month. Chapman told AuburnSports.com he was planning to arrive on campus in early August but did not appear on the official roster Tuesday.
Chapman is the only Auburn punter as of now that's expected to be on scholarship. He accepted a blueshirt offer when he committed, meaning he'll be on scholarship when arrives but won't count toward Auburn's 2020 class scholarship total.
If the position battle comes down to Marshall and Chapman, there will also be no shortage of depth in the backup spots.
Auburn added Gardner-Webb transfer Crimmins Hankinson, according to the updated roster. Hankinson, a product of Augusta, Ga., was a scholarship punter for the Bulldogs and started all 11 games as a true freshman in 2018. He enrolled at Auburn last fall with aspirations of playing football he team before joining the Tigers as a walk-on this offseason.
Local standout Marshall Meyers from nearby Opelika High School will look to contribute in the kicking game, as well. Meyers was an accurate placekicker for Opelika but is listed on Auburn's roster as a punter. He signed as a walk-on with the Tigers on National Signing Day.
Per the SEC's announcement yesterday, Auburn can begin preseason camp Aug. 17, with a 40-day window to complete no more than 25 practices.
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