AUBURN | Jeff Schmedding made it clear at the beginning of spring drills. There were opportunities for Auburn’s young and inexperienced linebackers.

With Zakoby McClain and Chandler Wooten declaring for the NFL Draft and senior Owen Pappoe sitting out with an injury, there were plenty of reps to go around too.

Several responded including junior Wesley Steiner, who was the leading tackler in A-Day with six stops, and junior Cam Riley, who was named A-Day Defensive MVP with five tackles and one sack.

Sophomore Joko Willis, who had one tackle and one tackle-for-loss, also stepped up his play this spring.

“We had Wesley and Cam Riley step up,” said defensive lineman Colby Wooden. “Joko Willis came in the Star role for us. They came in and did what we asked them to do, which was to help fill the gap for Owen while he's making his return. They did a great job of that. There wasn't any drop off.”

Steiner has been a key backup and special teams performer over the past two seasons, playing in 22 games with one start. One of his biggest assets is the need to self-evaluate and find ways to improve.

“For myself, I definitely want to work on my hips,” said Steiner. “I say my hips, it's more of me getting out of a plant-drive. Probably a better understanding of seeing routes and reading through routes. There was a play today, I thought I could have opened up a lot better to come down and make the play, whether it was my job or not — we'll get back to it when we go back and watch it.

“But certainly my hips, and there was a missed tackle today as well. I talked to a couple of the older linebackers — Zakoby was out here today, so I talked to him about it, talked to Owen about it. Just things I could've done better on that missed tackle.”

Riley was 209 pounds when he arrived at Auburn in 2020. He checked in at the start of spring at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds.

“He is a versatile player and I think the biggest thing that he gained last year was No. 1 the experience, and then took that and there was a hunger after the season,” said Schmedding, Auburn’s defensive coordinator. “He wanted to be more active in this defense and play significant minutes and it showed up. Sometimes people say they want it but their actions don't always back it up. You see the weight he's gained.”

Riley has played in 24 career games with three starts while Willis, who joined the team out of junior college last season, played in nine games.

“I think Joko brings a lot of versatility to the room,” said Steiner. “We have a couple of packages we rotate in and out of. We've really been using Joko between those packages.”

Pappoe is expected to be cleared for contact later this summer. Steiner credits him for putting in a lot of work with the linebackers this spring despite his injury.

“Owen's been a tremendous help so far, even if he's not present on the field, he's certainly present at practice when we come off the sidelines — because he's still watching, he's still coaching up as best as he can,” said Steiner. “I'm really proud to have him as my teammate and glad he's a guy of that caliber and that character to continue to support us younger teammates.”

Auburn concluded spring practice with last Saturday’s A-Day game. The season-opener is Sept. 3 against Mercer at Jordan-Hare Stadium.