As the Auburn secondary has worked its way through injuries, all along the way it’s had Roger McCreary as the reliable No. 1 option.

“Obviously Roger is kind of, I won’t say in a class by himself, but he’s played the most,” defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said. “He’s been consistent at it, and it’s gone on for two seasons now.”

Last season, McCreary had 36 tackles and an interception while playing behind Noah Igbinoghene and Javaris Davis. This year, through six games, McCreary has 26 tackles, two interceptions and has forced a fumble.

Part of the biggest jump in his play has come from an increased confidence level.

“Well, again, it goes back to that word of maturity. But I think with him it's confidence,” Steele said. “You know, when you play out there on that position, if you have a problem everybody knows who it was. That was 23. If somebody's in a wrong gap, half the stadium may not figure out who it was, you know. There's a lot of pressure there, and the best way to combat pressure is to know your job and to understand what other people are trying to do to attack you.”

Slotted with the task to guard top receivers like George Pickens, Elijah Moore and Terrace Marshall Jr., McCreary has been able to limit the damage from those guys.

Pickens had two receptions for 26 yards and a touchdown, Moore had five catches for 16 yards and a touchdown and Marshall had four catches for 28 yards.

For McCreary, it doesn’t matter who he goes up against, he’ll be up for the task.

“Whoever is No. 1. It doesn’t matter if it’s Terrace or another receiver. I’m always playing all of them the same,” McCreary said. “It don’t matter who I go against. I’m playing my game.”

Along with his increase in confidence, Steele feels that McCreary has started to become a smarter cornerback, which has helped his progression.

“He has studied the game and made a big push to be a smart football player and understand his job as well as how they're going to try and attack you,” Steele said. “What is the stem release? Whether it's alignment, cutting it down, expanding it and understanding that. So he's kind of taken it to the next level in that regard, and with that his confidence is very, very high. And so when you've got a skill set like he's got and you have high confidence, then you tend to play pretty well.”

With McCreary solidified as Auburn’s No. 1 and the rest of the group now at full strength, Steele has his top three cornerbacks.

“[Marco] Domio is back in the mix now and playing very well. He’s had some really good days of practice in a row now,” Steele said. “Played some meaningful snaps against LSU early in the game, so that’s helped us. And then with [Nehemiah] Pritchett and Roger, those three are the primary guys.”

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