Ranking AU by position: No. 5
AUBURN | The sixth in our series of ranking Auburn football by position continues today with wide receivers at No. 5. We’re counting down from 10 to 1 over the next couple of weeks.
WHY NO. 5: On one hand, Auburn lost its all-time leading receiver and its top big-play threat for the past couple of seasons. On the other hand, a talented class from last season is back for year two, a couple of players are returning from injuries and two veterans could be poised to finally step up. It’s a mixed bag so it’s right in the middle of the rankings.
OVERVIEW: It starts with sophomore Seth Williams, who established himself as Auburn’s top returning receiver after finishing third to Ryan Davis and Darius Slayton with 26 catches for 534 yards and five touchdowns last year. His 20.5 average yards per catch topped the team last fall and he should be the top target for whoever wins the starting quarterback position this season.
Getting junior Eli Stove and senior Will Hastings back from injury should be a big boost to the group. Hastings is coming off back-to-back knee surgeries so he’s missed a lot of football the past year and a half. They can both fill important roles: Stove as a weapon on the speed sweep and experienced pass catcher and Hastings as a specialist in finding space in the middle of a defense.
Senior Sal Cannella and junior Marquis McClain were given increased responsibilities this spring and responded well. They’re both on track to contribute much more in 2019.
Sophomore Anthony Schwartz competed with the track team this spring but flashed his big-play potential last season, redshirt freshman Matthew Hill had a big spring game and sophomore Shedrick Jackson gained valuable experience playing in 11 games last fall. All three should be ready to step up in year two.
The Tigers added a new receiver to the bunch last week in Youngstown State graduate transfer Zach Farrar, who has two years of eligibility left. Auburn is looking for the former Oklahoma player to help fill Slayton’s role as a deep threat.
Auburn will add two more freshmen signees this summer in Ja’Varrius Johnson and Jashawn Sheffield. Johnson played in a similar offense at Hewitt-Trussville and could provide some immediate playmaking ability.
FINAL NOTE: This group had an inconsistent spring, dropping too many passes early, before putting together an outstanding A-Day game, especially Williams and Hill. If they can pull it together this fall, the group can provide a lot of athleticism, big-play ability and depth. But there’s still a lot of unproven talent among the receivers, which makes the group a bit of a question mark going into the fall.
MORE RANKINGS
9. Quarterbacks
8. Linebackers