ATLANTA — Noah Igbinoghene won't deny how he felt before the game.

"After the first snap, I was good, but I'm not even going to lie, before the game, I was kinda nervous since I hadn't played the position since middle school. It's different," Igbinoghene said. "But once I got my feet wet a little bit, it was fine."

The receiver-turned-cornerback made his first-career start on the defensive side of the ball. It didn't come against a early-season foe to ease him into it. It came against the No. 6 team in the country. It was against a quarterback with a Heisman-caliber pedigree with his wide receivers who proved a special playmaking ability Saturday.

But when you ask the Auburn defensive leaders what impressed them most during the win — at least in the case of defensive tackle Dontavius Russell — Igbinoghene's name comes up immediately.

"Noah, he's not a freshman or anything, but he just started playing defense. He played well for us and made some big plays in the end zone," Russell said. "There were a lot of young guys who played well today, but Noah was impressive to see."

Two times against Washington, Browning threw end-zone fades in Igbinoghene's direction. Two times, Browning's receivers got their hands on the passes with nice touch. Two times, Igbinoghene swatted through the receivers' hands on the play to force incompletions that would've otherwise been touchdowns.

He didn't look like someone who spent the 2017 season entirely as a wide receiver.

Despite success throughout the offseason, and regular high praise from coaches and teammates, Igbinoghene still felt like he needed a performance against a team like Washington to show himself he was ready to be an SEC cornerback.

"I think I did [need to prove it to myself]. Even though I did it in practice and scrimmages, there's nothing like a game. I did it in the game today. I think I've still got some stuff to prove, but I think I proved a little bit today," Igbinoghene said. "I expected to be targeted as a wide receiver moving from cornerback. They probably didn't think I was going to be as good as I was today. I was ready for it."

It wasn't a flawless performance.

Washington had its successes throwing deep fades along the sidelines. Jamel Dean, Jordyn Peters and Igbinoghene were all bested at times throughout the day. Igbionghene was also called for a defensive pass interference, though it was one of the more questionable penalties called on Saturday.

All in all, however, it was a sensational debut for a guy who wasn't even playing the position 10 months ago.

"At the end of last season, I was working at wide receiver, and I'd got better at it. Then all of a sudden, they trying to move me to DB. All that work at wide receiver, but I had to do what's best for this team. And, it's all worked out," Igbinoghene said. "At first, I was kinda doubting myself a little bit because, like I said, I hadn't been playing the position since middle school. Especially in the SEC, or facing Washington in the first game. So hearing that [praise] from [Kevin Steele], my coaches and my teammates, they're the reason I got ready."