When the preseason All-SEC teams were announced in July, a notable name was missing. Rivaldo Fairweather, who caught 38 passes for 394 yards and six touchdowns for Auburn in 2023, was omitted.

Instead, Ole Miss' Caden Prieskorn, LSU's Mason Taylor and Georgia's Oscar Delp were given the honors. That snub isn't going to bother Fairweather, though.

"I mean, I don't really pay attention to preseason stuff," he said. "A couple of people were telling me about it and showing me, but preseason is just what they think is going to happen. I know what's going to happen. I know that I'm No. 1 in this league and No. 1 in this nation, so I don't really worry about it."

Fairweather was one of the Tigers' lone bright spots in the passing game last season despite regularly facing double teams in the red zone because of a lack of other playmakers. Now, he has help from a reloaded wide receiver room, making him even more of a threat.

"I feel like that's going to help me this year because they ain't going to be able to bracket (or) put safeties over the top (or) nothing, cause our receivers are going to go out there and make plays," Fairweather said.

Trying to build on his success last season, the Lauderhill, Fla., native has focused on his body, getting it more toned so he has more stamina for the long season. Fairweather is aware of how valuable he is to Auburn's offense, so he wants to be on the field as much as possible.

That's not his only focus this offseason.

"I've been focusing on catching better," Fairweather said. "I've been on the JUGS every day, catch 200 balls a day. I've also locked in with my coach, Coach Ben (Aigamaua); he's been really helping us with that in Indy drills. Just doing all the blocking stuff and working on better hand placement and stuff like that."

As for his message to linebackers who think they might be able to keep up with him in coverage, Fairweather has a blunt message.

"Oh yeah, linebackers can't cover me," he said.