Burns remains confident in WRs

AUBURN | Four of his top receivers have been out or limited with injuries. The rest have struggled at times with dropped passes, especially in Auburn’s first two scrimmages.

But Kodi Burns, the Tigers’ 4th-year receivers coach, remains extremely confident in his group.

“I feel great. I feel really good about where we are,” Burns said. “We've got nicks and bruises, but I'm just telling you — when we get everything squared away and all these guys where we need to get them at, I feel as good as I've felt since I've been here.

“We're obviously recruiting at a high level, and we've got some guys coming who are going to help us out next year. So I feel really good about where we are as a group.”

Anthony Schwartz, expected to fill a key role as a deep threat, is out with a hand injury. Returning leading receiver Seth Williams has been slowed by a back injury. Eli Stove and Will Hastings have been held out of most full contact work as they return from knee surgeries.

“I know what those guys can do,” Burns said. “When we were rolling with those guys out there, we've got four of the best in the country. Then these other guys, they've got to step up and become those guys. They've got the potential to do it, I just know what these other guys can do.

“We saw Seth Williams make plays last year as a freshman. He lost weight, he's been able to open up and run, and he's developing as a real guy. I know what Anthony Schwartz can do. He's the fastest guy in America. He's going to be similar to what Darius Slayton did the last couple of years. And then Will and Eli — I mean, two years ago, Will had close to 700 yards receiving, and Eli is one of the best players in the country with the ball in his hands.”

When healthy, Schwartz and Williams will line up on the outside with Stove and Hastings in the slot. Burns believes that can be a very productive group.

But for a good portion of fall camp, Matthew Hill, Sal Cannella and Marquis McClain have worked with the first-team. Further depth comes from grad transfer Zach Farrar along with Shedrick Jackson, Ja’Varrius Johnson and Jashawn Sheffield.

Of that group, Hill has been the most impressive but Burns wants more consistency from the redshirt freshman, and really the entire receiver corps.

"These guys aren't just backups or whatever you want to call them. These guys have potential to be starters in this league and could play for multiple teams,” Burns said. “My biggest thing with them is that they have to simply be consistent. We have some wow plays here and there, where a guy goes up and makes a great play, but then a play or two later, we don't make the same play that we should.

“I like where we are. I think we're getting depth, we're developing depth, which is the biggest thing. That's really important, because throughout the course of a season, you never know what's going to happen with injuries and things. So those guys are getting quality minutes throughout fall camp.”