AUBURN | Keldric Faulk is probably Auburn’s most talented player and projected to be a first-round pick in next spring’s NFL Draft.

The junior defensive end also happens to be one of the Tigers’ hardest working players and most important leaders. He is the total package.

“When you coach a guy like Keldric, it’s one of those deals you realize is a coach’s dream,” said defensive line coach Vontrell King-Williams. “Love the kid. Love the competitor. Having him back in that room is another deal where you say it’s priceless because he’s not a dude that just talks, he actually does it.

“He’ll say, ‘Hey, let’s go out on Saturday and get some extra work or let’s go out on Sunday.’ He’ll be the first one there. Having a guy like that dude is awesome. He welcomes hard coaching too. I coach him as hard as I coach anyone else. He wants that. I think that’s the special thing about him. He’s just going to continue to skyrocket in his career.”

Faulk is coming off a standout sophomore season in which he had 45 tackles, 11.0 tackles-for-loss, 7.0 sacks, one forced fumble, one pass breakup and seven quarterback hurries.

In addition to working to improve his skills, Faulk has spent much of the offseason helping to coach up a young AU defensive front.

“Really just stay grounded and eager to learn,” said Faulk of what he tells the younger players, which includes his brother, true freshman linebacker J.J. Faulk. “When you come in as a freshman, you think, ‘Coach, he brought me in to replace this guy.’ But I don’t know why people look at it like that when they should look at it as, ‘They brought me in to learn from this guy.’

“Life is all about learning new things everyday. The more you learn … you’ll end up playing faster and you’ll end up playing a whole lot better.”

Faulk is excited about the potential of this year’s defense in the second season under coordinator DJ Durkin.

“Our defense is relentless effort, violent tackling and leading in execution,” said Faulk. “We’re going to be one of the smartest teams on the field. We’re going to work the hardest. We’re going to fly to the ball. We’re going to get 11 hats to the ball every play.

“That’s what you can expect out of this defense. We’re going to be one of the top defenses in the country.”

Auburn opens the season Aug. 29 at Baylor. The game is scheduled for Friday night at 7 p.m. CT on FOX.