AUBURN | I’m as Missouri on Auburn’s 2025 football team as the Show Me State can get.
But that doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore some of the positive signs I observed coming out of a relatively low-key spring practice.
It starts with the defense where I can be more easily persuaded that this year’s unit is going to take a step forward.
And it really starts with D.J. Durkin, who I think is a top-notch defensive coordinator. Experience tells me that a second season under a talented coordinator usually coincides with better play on the field.
Auburn has recruited well on that side of the ball too, and might add a couple of more pieces in the spring portal to shore up linebacker and the defensive line a little more.
So I wouldn’t be surprised if Auburn’s defense went from a middle of the pack unit in the SEC to more of a top five group. I’d also be surprised if an improved pass rush and secondary doesn’t produce more takeaways than the 13 the Tigers had last season, which ranked 15th in the conference.
Those are reasonable expectations and achievable goals on that side of the ball. At least in my eyes.
Now, the offense, well, I’m starting to feel better about that group too. But it’s been so bad for so long, it’s hard to get too excited.
The biggest reasons I see for optimism on that side of the ball is the upgrades at the key positions of quarterback, offensive tackle and wide receiver.
There’s no question to me that AU’s quarterback room is more talented and will be upgraded even more next month when Ashton Daniels arrives from Stanford. More talent and better functional depth should lead to more production.
Should. But I ain’t gonna lie. I’ve got to see it. And I probably won’t believe it until AU gets into serious SEC play in late September and October.
But I recognize the potential is there. More potential than there was a year ago.
Auburn brought in two new offensive tackles from the portal but Xavier Chaplin, the projected starter at left tackle, was kept out of contact while he recovers from offseason surgery.
Auburn’s got a lot of other experienced offensive linemen returning. This unit should be better too. But for me, it’s a lot like quarterback. I’ll believe it when I see it.
The one position on offense I’m not hesitant to raise my expectation levels for is wide receiver. In fact, this may be the best group I’ve covered in my 25 years on the Auburn beat.
That talented freshmen class from a year ago is ready to take a step forward. Auburn hit a home run with both of its portal additions in Eric Singleton Jr. and Horatio Fields, and Sam Turner is already on track to make an impact as a true freshman this fall.
It’s a great mix of explosive speed from guys like Singleton and Malcolm Simmons, and dudes that dominate 50/50 balls like Fields, Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson.
I’m whatever the opposite of Missouri is on this group. Kansas, maybe?
As far as special teams go, we’ll see. Hudson Kaak looks like he’ll be as good or maybe a little better at punter. Alex McPherson is back at kicker and there are plenty of options around him if he’s not quite ready or suffers a setback.
There are a lot of talented running backs, wide receivers and defensive backs that could be impactful in the return game. So we’ll see how that develops over the coming months.
Have I just talked myself into a 10-win season? A berth in the college football playoffs?
No.
But I’m not ruling anything out. Auburn is way overdue to have a football team that actually exceeds expectations.
And being Missouri on a team doesn’t mean it can’t happen. I've just got to see it to believe it. So show me.
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In today’s musical journey, we go back 37 years to the release of what is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential hip-hop albums off all time. On April 14, 1988, Public Enemy released It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. For their second studio album, Public Enemy wanted to create a hip hop version of Marvin Gay’s What’s Going On, which was released in 1971. Many of the songs on the album address issues around black empowerment, racism and the political issues of the time. “Bring the Noise” refers to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, “Night of the Living Baseheads” refers to the crack cocaine epidemic and “Party for Your Right to Fight” was dedicated to the Black Panther Party. Other popular songs from the album include “Rebel Without a Pause” and “Don’t Believe the Hype.” The Bomb Squad, led by Hank and Keith Shocklee, and Eric “Vietnam” Sadler, served as Public Enemy’s production team. They would stay behind while the band was touring to prepare the music, which allowed the album to be recorded in 30 days at Greene Street Recording in Manhattan. The album spent 47 weeks on the Billboard 200 and is ranked 15th on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Public Enemy was formed in Roosevelt, N.Y., by Chuck D (Carlton Ridenhour) and Flavor Flav (William Drayton) in 1985 while they were both attending Adelphi University in Long Island. They added Professor Griff (Richard Duane Griffin) as Minister of Information and a local DJ, Terminator X (Norman Rogers), to complete the group. Their first big break came as the opening act for the Beastie Boys during their Licensed to Ill tour. They released their debut album in 1987 and have released a total of 15 studio albums with the latest coming in 2020. The group has undergone a number of lineup changes over the last four decades with Chuck D and Flavor Flav remaining as the core. Some of their most popular songs include 1990’s “Fight the Power,” 1998’s “He Got Game” and 2007’s “Harder Than You Think.” Public Enemy was inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 and received a Grammy Lifetime Award in 2020.
