Jamien Sherwood sees a lot of himself in a new face in the Tigers' defensive backfield.
As Auburn nears two weeks until its season opener against Kentucky, coaches are straining to identify their biggest depth pieces at various position groups. One of the most valuable rotations will be at safety, where, behind Sherwood and Smoke Monday, two or three DBs should be heavily utilized by the Tigers, like Sherwood and Monday were for their first two seasons as backups.
It's a deep, deep secondary for Auburn in 2020, with veterans, transfers and freshmen all vying for precious playing time. In the safety rotation in particular, one newcomer is making good on his blue-chip rating, and has made an impression on Sherwood and his teammates.
"Chris Thompson — he's a freshman but he's doing really well," Sherwood said during a Zoom interview with reporters Wednesday. "He's big. He's physical. He's fast. He's smart, as well. ... He kind of reminds me of myself."
One of four 4-star defensive backs signed by Gus Malzahn in Auburn's 2020 class, Thompson shares Sherwood's long, physical mold for a defensive centerfielder at 6-foot-1 and 202 pounds (Sherwood was 6-2, 207 as a freshman).
Much of what Sherwood has gleaned from Thompson's skill set has been purely athleticism and physicality through more than four weeks of fall camp. That's to be expected from a freshman still learning the demands and intricacies of Kevin Steele's defense. Sherwood himself admitted that, when he arrived in 2018, "it was hard to understand, to really get the concept of everything."
Still, Thompson is picking up the playbook fast and is making his presence felt in the safeties room, competing heavily in the rotation behind Sherwood and Monday with veteran Jordyn Peters.
Sherwood thinks it's just a matter of time — and learning — before Thompson is able to blossom into a big piece for Auburn's defense.
"You know, as he just keeps growing and molding into the system, keeps getting everything down — like the meetings, practices, repetition stuff — he'll be great when his time comes," Sherwood said.
Learning behind Jeremiah Dinson for two seasons, Sherwood appeared in all 26 games, recording 66 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and an interception. Monday had 35 tackles, three sacks and two interceptions as Daniel Thomas' backup.
Young players entering the mix in the secondary are realizing how valuable a backup safety spot is at Auburn. Steele has shown he can give four or five players significant roles at the position throughout a season. But Thompson's skills are allowing him to expand his contributions even further, Sherwood said.
Though he's excelling most at safety, Thompson can play multiple spots in the secondary, just like Peters can.
Sherwood thinks that versatility — blended with Thompson's maturity and talent for a freshman who turned 19 just this week — should lead to plenty of playing time for the Texas product in 2020.
"He can play corner," Sherwood said of Thompson's range in the secondary. "He has long arms. He's good in coverage from the Star (nickel) position. He's great at safety. At practice, just watching him, he does some great things out there."
Auburn players get the day off Thursday before returning to the practice field Friday. They're set to compete in their third scrimmage of fall camp Saturday morning in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
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