AUBURN | Jalen McLeod didn’t have a lot of help last season as Auburn’s primary edge rusher.

He’ll have plenty this fall.

The Tigers added three Buck linebackers in the offseason in Arkansas State transfer Keyron Crawford and true freshmen Jamonta Waller and Joe Phillips.

“The speed. The depth. There's not a drop off when the next man comes in. And we're so fast in that area,” said McLeod.

Crawford, who joined the team this summer, is already one of the standouts from AU’s first two practices of fall camp. He’s listed as 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds.

“He's probably a better pass-rusher than me, in my opinion,” said McLeod. “He's got a bag that's different. He's got a good get-off. He's the prototype. Got the size and his size shows on the field, too. He's so strong.

“Both of us on the field with Keldric (Faulk) on the interior, we're going to have a better pass rush. Much better.”

Phillips and Waller both went through spring and McLeod has seen both take a step forward over the summer.

“Joe, he was in his playbook, and so he's not messing up like he was in the spring,” said McLeod. “He came into fall camp with a different mindset. I talked to him, like 'Bro, you can't keep messing up. You a freshman, but you going to play some this season, too.'

“Jamonta, he was already on it when he came in, so he's improving. He's slowed the game down a lot. He's moving, moving fast. He's playing like how his high school tape is. He just needs to keep playing that way.”

McLeod had 50 tackles, 10.5 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks in 12 games last season after transferring from Appalachian State. He’s worked hard in the offseason to add size and strength and come into camp as healthy as possible.

“Last year I got hurt and right now I'm on the right path with weight wise and everything. It'd be huge and give me a huge advantage to maintain my weight and keep going,” said McLeod.

“My main focus is make sure I'm in the right gap, my technique is sound, I bend strong at the point of attack. It's just making sure I'm almost perfect every snap. And then that's going to help my teammates. I'm not going to always make the play, I can set people up so they can make the play too. That's how we'll be a better defense.”

The Tigers will hold their third practice of fall camp Saturday morning.