AUBURN | When it comes to playing as a true freshman in the SEC, Camden Brown has a lot of the characteristics it takes to succeed.

The 6-foot-3 and 202-pound wide receiver from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., has already caught the eye of his position coach and several of Auburn’s veteran players.

“Camden Brown has been outstanding,” said wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard. “He's cut from a kind of an older school work ethic process that, you know, this setup is not foreign to him. And he adapted a little bit better and earlier than the rest of the guys.

“Now, it's just the details with the routes and the concepts and that sort of thing. Strong young human, I can tell you that now. Big body, big frame. Very, very mature for his age. So, I'm excited about that.”

Brown didn’t waste any time turning heads in fall camp. On day one, with practices split between the veterans and newcomers, he was with his fellow freshmen.

By day two, he was making plays with the veterans.

“He's special,” said junior tight end Luke Deal. “He'll be really good. You obviously look at him — he's long, he's strong, he’s athletic. More importantly, he's a good kid. I've gotten to know him pretty well and he’s a great guy. And I mean, he makes some crazy catches. He's an athletic player. Athletic wide receiver. Big body.”

Even AU’s veteran defensive backs have been impressed with freshman.

“He's a big, strong receiver,” said senior cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett. “I can tell he's a hard worker. And I can tell throughout fall he just wants to get better. He wants to crack the rotation and he's taking in everything; the knowledge and everything from Shed and Malcolm and the guys that's been here.”

It’s still early in camp and Hilliard’s not ready to name his starters or even his most likely contributors at wideout. Brown is still one of 12 scholarship receivers competing and he’ll have to keep making plays in order to be in the playing rotation for the opener against Mercer Sept. 3.

But Hilliard certainly recognizes Brown’s talent and knows players like him usually don’t stay in college for long.

“They normally don't -- they don't come that way,” said Hilliard. “So his frame is something that's going to be welcomed here. We're going to try and maximize his playmaking ability. And it's just a big thing about whether you're young or old -- when your number is called and you have an opportunity, people want to see you show up more times than others. And he's just done that -- he's taken advantage of that opportunity. He's made more plays than he hasn’t.

“You know, that window is not that long. So with Cam and any young player, we're only going to probably have him for, you know, three to four years. So the earlier they can start making plays, the earlier they can they can start making plays, the earlier they can be on with their life trajectory.”

Auburn’s preseason practice continues Thursday morning. The Tigers will hold their first major scrimmage Saturday evening at Jordan-Hare Stadium.