To aid a relatively unproven secondary, Christian Tutt was thrown into the fire as a true freshman. His position coach, Marcus Woodson, admitted as much.

But as Tutt now assumes a starting role with the defense at nickel, Auburn is glad it put the former 4-star defensive back in a sink-or-swim situation.

"We put him in the fire early last year as a true freshman, and we’re reaping the benefits now because of that experience," Woodson said at Auburn's assistant coach media day earlier this month. "[Tutt] had a really productive spring. He’s another guy that picked up exactly where he left off in the spring and continues to get better every day.

A product of Thomson, Ga., Tutt played in 11 of the Tigers' 13 games, racking up 25 tackles, a sack and an interception as a reserve who was called upon midseason to fill in for an injured Javaris Davis.

Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said that while Tutt's rookie campaign was exactly what the Tigers needed, it mostly an instinct-driven effort. This offseason Tutt is becoming more studious with the defensive playbook, looking to improve his on-field smarts to hang with the secondary starters, all of whom are upperclassmen other than Tutt.

“Just understanding more of the game," Steele said of Tutt's biggest area of improvement. "He played last year just on skillset and knowing our calls. Now he’s starting to understand more — OK, offense, the split, the location of the receivers; OK, they’re going to run the slant; OK, no, not in this location, they’re not running the slant. Just knowing that.”

Auburn wants a physical, hard-hitting, linebacker-defensive back hybrid in the center of its defense, and Tutt fits the bill. His aggressive play style made the move to nickel simple for Auburn's coaches while the speedy Davis replaces Jamel Dean at cornerback.

Steele said over the summer that he expects Auburn to play nearly 90 percent of its defensive snaps in the nickel package this year because of the multiple-set nature of most SEC offenses. Tutt will be counted on to make plays in space against running backs and receivers alike in the middle of the defense.

Then, if Auburn gets a third-down stop, Tutt may stay on the field. He and Davis were listed as co-starters at punt returner on the team's first official depth chart Tuesday. Gus Malzahn said both are expected to return punts in the opener against Oregon (Saturday, 6:30 p.m. CST, ABC).

Tutt's mentors in the secondary believe his offseason work, combined with his fluid athleticism, make Tutt exactly the type of player to drop a hit-stick, then make a nifty return on special teams

"I call him sweet feet," senior safety Jeremiah Dinson said of Tutt. "That's my nickname for him, man. He's improved so much. He improved in the weight room. Like I said I call him sweet feet. His feet are good. He's getting smarter. He's gotten in the playbook more this summer. I can't wait for him to show his ability to y'all on Saturday."