Published Nov 5, 2020
Morris ‘excited’ to have Frazier back at TE
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Bryan Matthews  •  AuburnSports
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AUBURN | Chad Morris is adding another piece to his already improving offense, and it’s a big one.

Freshman Brandon Frazier, listed as 6-foot-7 and 270 pounds on Auburn’s depth chart, has returned from an injury and is practicing this week.

“Well we're definitely excited to have Brandon back this week. We're getting him back into the fold of things,” said Morris, AU’s first-year offensive coordinator. “I thought early on in the year that's the one thing we were really missing to get the offense really kick-started. Everywhere I've ever been, we've really always had our tight ends always involved in the passing game. We just -- we weren't getting there early on in the year.

“So it's been a huge focal point for us. We had to get the guys involved for us to continue to grow and do what we wanted to do offensively. I think we're able to see that over the last week, and it's been a big plus for us. Getting Brandon back now only adds to that. But I continue to expect those guys to continue to grow and be more and more a part of what we're trying to do.”

Auburn has mainly used three tight ends this season with John Samuel Shenker, Luke Deal and J.J. Pegues combining for seven receptions for 54 yards.

Frazier was a standout during fall camp and on track to be a big part of AU’s plans on offense before his injury. Now that he’s back, Frazier can only enhance AU’s current group of tight ends and the offense as a whole.

“He just adds to that. He adds his own skill set and others have their own skill set,” said tight ends coach Larry Porter. “The more pieces that we have with different skill sets, it gives Coach Morris an opportunity to do different things with them. I think Coach Morris has done a tremendous job trying to utilize those guys in certain situations and play to their strengths.

“But Brandon is a big, tall man, great hands, really good route runner. He’s growing and he’s growing in the area of blocking. So he’s staring to come together as a complete tight end. You go through that maturing process, the improving process as a freshman and sometimes it can be difficult. I think he’s handled it extremely well and we’re looking forward to him showing more as we get go through the final stretch of the season.”

Auburn returns to action Nov. 14 at Mississippi State. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on SECN.