Auburn| Cam Riley made his first start at Jordan-Hare for Auburn on Saturday. He made it count.

The junior linebacker led the Auburn defense all night by recording 15 tackles against Mercer. Was this surprising to his teammates?

“Oh no, Cam had a great camp," said EDGE Derick Hall. "He’s been that guy ever since Zakoby (McClain) decided to leave, he knew he had to step up and take that next step to help this defense, so it’s not a shocker. Cam’s a really good player and he’s going to continue to get better."

Riley only had 14 tackles all of last season, so totaling 15 on the night was not something he saw coming.

“It just felt good," Riley said. "I wasn’t expecting to end with 15, I told OP (Owen Pappoe) 15, but in reality, I wasn’t really expecting I’d end with 15.”

For the past two seasons, it had been McClain being the one on Auburn's defense that racked up a ton of tackles per game, but with him gone, Riley stepped into that role and feels he can fill it this season.

“Difficult shoes to fill," Riley said. "Zakoby was our leading tackler last year, but after that game right there, I kind of feel like I’ll be up there where he was.”

Standing at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, Riley has great size, and now he is starting to match his skill with his frame.

"He’s definitely got the ability to make those kinds of plays," said AU coach Bryan Harsin. "I thought he tackled well. He’s long, he’s moving better. He’s just physically developed himself into a better player... He can be a really good player for us."

Coming into the season, Riley had set a goal to record 50 tackles on the season, but after tonight's breakout performance, he is shooting higher.

"After tonight... I'm aiming for 100," Riley said.