Despite two Power 5 conferences cancelling their 2020 fall seasons altogether, Auburn will still open fall camp Monday.

The SEC is trudging forward with its previous preseason camp plan, not allowing cancellation announcements from the Big Ten and Pac-12 on Tuesday to affect its trajectory toward playing football in just over a month.

And if the SEC says there will be football played, until told otherwise, Gus Malzahn and his staff will continue to prepare the Tigers for their 2020 campaign.

Per conference regulations, SEC teams can begin preseason camp Monday, with a 40-day window to complete 25 practices before each team's respective seasons begin Sept. 26. The stretched-out practice period aims to allow programs to have fall-back days in case of COVID-19 issues within their ranks.

Each week of camp must include at least two off days. The first five days will be an acclimatization period, with the first two days in helmets, shells added for the next two days, and full pads donned on the fifth day.

And when the Tigers finally put those pads back on, a host of new faces will be in the mix for playing time on both sides of the ball.

Between freshman class signees and transfers, 28 new scholarship players grace the Tigers' 2020 roster. Who among the newcomers could make the biggest impact this coming season? Here are five candidates to watch out for as the Tigers get set to practice football again — at long last.

A wildly athletic transfer from Blinn College in Texas — the same JUCO at which Cam Newton won a championship before coming to Auburn — Marco Domio had Auburn fans biting their nails as one of the later arrivals of the 2020 class.

The experience and depth he provides to a relatively depleted cornerbacks room can't be overstated. If he hadn't been able to make it to Auburn, the secondary would have survived, but it would have been at a disadvantage without one of its big pieces that was expected to compete for a starting role. Luckily for the Tigers, Domio got to campus July 9.

Listed on Auburn's updated roster at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, Domio signed with Malzahn's 2020 class as a 4-star — the No. 3 JUCO prospect in the country and one of Auburn's most valuable defensive pickups.

Domio isn't guaranteed a starting role. Junior Roger McCreary figures to be Auburn's No. 1 corner after waiting patiently in the wings for two seasons. At the other vacated starting spot, Domio will compete with sophomore Nehemiah Pritchett, senior Devan Barrett and possibly Zion Puckett and Jaylin Simpson, who played other spots in the secondary last season but could move to corner to help depth.

But don't expect it to take long for Domio to begin impressing Auburn's defensive staff to the point where he's getting first-team looks. Even if he doesn't get a starting nod Week 1, it's likely he'll help the secondary rotation in some fashion early and often. He's probably too athletic and experienced not to.

Cartavious "Tank" Bigsby was the offensive gem of Malzahn's most recent class. Ranked as the No. 5 running back in the country, Bigsby was at one point a 5-star prospect and the No. 1 athlete in the nation before he was officially designated to the tailback grouping.

Auburn's running-back cupboard is stocked to the brim. Though Malzahn loses his two-year leading rusher, JaTarvious Whitlow, and his ever-reliable, third-down back in Malik Miller, Auburn still boasts a five-deep tailback rotation that features four former 4-star prospects in Bigsby, Harold Joiner, Shaun Shivers and Mark-Antony Richards.

Bigsby may hold the biggest home-run-hitting prowess of them all. Clocking in a 6 feet and 204 pounds, Bigsby is a powerful runner when attacking holes, but he still has breakaway speed at the second level, capable of blowing by defensive backs with a strong burst.

Will there be enough food at the table to feed each of Malzahn's high-ceiling runners in 2020? That remains to be seen, but Bigsby won't be one to lay down lightly and accept a small volume of carries, even as a true freshman. He knows he has the potential to be Auburn's lead back, maybe as early as this season.

Chattanooga native Jay Hardy certainly doesn't look the part of an 18-year-old newbie.

The 6-foot-4, 299-pound true freshman is listed by Auburn as an end, but with his size and power, the former 4-star prospect may possess the ability to kick inside and help at defensive tackle, like Marlon Davidson did so effectively for four seasons.

That versatility could lead to plenty of playing time for Hardy in 2020. Senior Tyrone Truesdell will reprise his starting role at one defensive tackle slot, but the other, left vacant by 2019 SEC Defensive Player of the Year Derrick Brown, is up for grabs, with the most likely candidates being Daquan Newkirk and Coynis Miller.

If either aren't up to par, Hardy could work his way into the rotation.

The same goes for Hardy's listed position of defensive end. He and fellow 4-star freshman Zykeivous Walker are part of a crowded room behind senior starter Big Kat Bryant, but look for position coach Rodney Garner to find a way to get his most talented players on the field, regardless of age. Hardy may be chief among that group.

The blue-chip ratio in Auburn's secondary is beginning to approach elite status.

Including versatile freshman Ladarius Tennison, Auburn boasts 12 former 4-star prospects at defensive back on its roster. And one former 3-star, McCreary, has probably locked up a starting spot.

So why would Tennison stand out in 2020? The Rockledge, Fla., product was a massive target for Kevin Steele and his staff. He was initially listed by Auburn as a safety, but now he holds a neutral title of defensive back. He likely fits in best at nickelback.

Tennison is a powerful tackler when he creeps up to the box while not sacrificing technique and assignment. Learning behind junior Christian Tutt at one of Steele's most important positions could be huge for Tennison and the future of Auburn's defense — that is, if Tennison doesn't push Tutt for the starting job right away.

With Steele's defense, there are five starters in the secondary but usually eight-to-nine rotational players who receive meaningful snaps in a season. There are a host of other candidates as Auburn's secondary is one of the deeper groups on the roster. But Tennison is certainly a newcomer to keep an eye on once Auburn begins solidifying its backups.

Akron transfer Brandon Council could be a massive piece for Malzahn's rebuilding offensive line in 2020 — by stature and by value.

He was added to the Tigers' recruiting class in early April, and immediately was pegged as a serious contender to earn a starting job. The 6-foot-4, 325-pound junior, who has two seasons to play at Auburn, notched a start at every offensive line spot at Akron with the exception of right guard.

If respective injuries to starting tackle candidates Austin Troxell and Killian Zierer aren't healed enough in fall camp, Council will more than likely get early looks at either tackle spot.

But it's the experience that most separates Council from the crowd heading into the 2020 offensive-line competition, as returning center starter Nick Brahms is the only O-lineman besides Council with any substantial playing experience.

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