LB signee 'will knock a hole in you'

AUBURN | You can tell Travis Williams sees a little bit of himself in K.J. Britt even if the linebacker signee is already 30 pounds heavier than Williams was back when he was an All-SEC linebacker at Auburn.

Britt, 6-foot and 235 pounds, was rated a four-star and the nation’s No. 4 inside linebacker by Rivals.

“When you're looking for linebackers, you first want to look for tough, tough young men, and good young men because I understand how Auburn was built. K.J. fits that mold,” said Williams, Auburn’s second-year linebacker coach. “K.J. is a very, very good young man. Very respectful. Great family. I had a lot of fun recruiting him. And he will knock a hole in you too. He gets there with bad intentions.

“You cut on the film and it's like, 'Whoa.' You look at the first clip, it gets you to the second clip, the third clip. Then when you meet him, you're like, 'You know what, this young man is an Auburn Tiger man.' He's awesome.”

Britt is a natural leader and quickly took to that role during the week he spent preparing for the Alabama-Mississippi all-star game in December. He finished the game with 10 tackles and a fumble recovery.

“I try to be physical. I try to hit. I'm always looking for a hit,” Britt said. “I'm also a student of the game, so I enjoy watching film and studying who I'm about to play against.

“With me, I think you're going to get somebody who is going to stop the run. I have to improve on my pass game, but I know I can do it. I can show speed. I'm versatile. That's how I would say I am.”

Britt had 124 tackles, 17 tackles-for-loss, five sacks and one interception as a senior at Oxford (Ala.) High last fall. He’ll play middle linebacker at Auburn and could be an early contributor.

Williams especially likes how well Britt uses his hands for a player coming out of high school.

“It's so different from when we were playing because we were running in with our shoulders,” Williams explained. “Now it's a big hands game. You have to use your hands. You have to be violent with your hands.

“He's so strong. He's as strong as three bears. He's strong so when he gets his hands on you he does a great job of disengaging and getting off blocks. Playing in the SEC and playing at this level, you really have to be great with your hands and he's really good at that.”

Britt joins Tadarian Moultry and Chandler Wooten in Auburn’s linebacker class. Britt and Wooten enrolled in January and will go through spring practice starting Feb. 28.

“It's very important for us because we know if you get them in early you can try to at least get them on special teams,” Williams said. “You can get them some reps on defense and see where they can play. The 15 practices are really important for them to get their feet wet, see me coach, see me in the meeting rooms and everything. It's very good for them.”