It obviously goes without explaining, but Eli Stove, a senior, starting college football player, wants to be in the NFL soon.

So Stove has been self-assessing what all he can do this season to improve his stock while also leaving even more of a positive mark on the Auburn offense he’s contributed to since he was a true freshman in 2016.

Aside from being a good teammate and volunteering more on special teams like Stove said he has been, he knows he’s being counted on to increase his production from last year and make 2020 his best season as a versatile weapon for Gus Malzahn.

Where Stove is most amped to see a bigger role in 2020 is in the first responsibility of his position: catching passes, which he and the rest of Auburn’s wide receivers are expecting to do more of this season thanks to new offensive coordinator Chad Morris.

The former Arkansas head coach has designs on expanding Auburn’s passing attack this season, and the Tigers’ primary pass-catchers are looking forward to reaping the benefits.

“We’re really excited in the receiver room right now,” Stove said last week. “... We’re going to be throwing the ball a little bit more. I think everybody (likes the new offense).”

Aside from the increased inclusion of running backs catching balls out of the backfield and tight ends contributing as more than just blockers — the staples Morris is most consistently praised for — Auburn’s receiving corps is seeing its route trees expanded, its players pushed to diversify their skill sets, and its range being extended more down field.

Stove mentioned more deep balls and intermediate routes as some of the bigger changes he’s seen in the passing game this preseason.

“Everybody's going to have more opportunities to go down the field and catch some,” Stove said of more long passes in the offense. “I think that that's what everybody has to improve on and make sure and constantly be a thing.”

Overall, Stove said Morris’ system is simply getting Auburn’s receivers “open a lot more” than years past.

“We have a lot of explosive plays,” Stove said. “Coach Morris is bringing in a lot of good plays and deep balls and intermediate plays to get everybody open.”

Morris is a big proponent of speed within an offense, like Malzahn. That should bode well for Stove, who has breakaway potential every time he’s given an angle on a quick pass or a jet sweep.

“You know [Morris] likes speed, so that’s the biggest thing,” Stove said.

In his first full season since 2017 after knee surgery in 2018, Stove tallied 44 touches within the offense last season, including four touchdowns from scrimmage. As the team’s third-leading receiver from last year, he’s being counted on by the offense to be consistent in practice while also mentoring Auburn’s stable of hungry and talented newcomers at the position.

Stove said the four freshman wideouts are impressing him and the other leaders in the room — like Seth Williams and Anthony Schwartz — as well as position coach Kodi Burns. Stove said he’d be surprised if all of them didn’t see the field this season in some capacity.

“They’re all explosive,” Stove said of the freshman receivers. “They’ve all got good hands. They’re all talented receivers. They’re all going to be great receivers. Everybody just needs to develop. That’s just being a freshman. They all have something they’ve got to work on, but I think they’re all going to be great.”

Aside from Stove and the new faces, Williams and Schwartz hope to also benefit greatly from a bigger emphasis on the passing game this season. Auburn’s two leading receivers from 2019 are the fifth- and sixth-best graded wideouts playing in the conference this season, according to PFF.

For Williams in particular, a high-round draft projection for 2021, the third 1,000-yard receiving season in Auburn history seems attainable.

The junior put in a lot of work this offseason on his body, Stove said, and is settling in as the alpha in Burns’ room during fall camp.

“I told him before when he was a freshman he could lose weight. He could be way faster,” Stove said of Williams’ emphasis on conditioning. “He's doing good. He's probably doing the best out of all the receivers. I like the way he's focused this year. He's ready to ball.”

Auburn will practice twice more this week Wednesday and Friday before scrimmaging for the second time this preseason in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday.

With 16 players currently held out of practice following COVID-19 tests and contact tracing last week, the scrimmage will serve as an opportunity for some backups to prove they deserve playing time this season at their respective positions. Depth will be more vital than ever in 2020, especially during the next two weeks of Auburn’s fall camp, with some depth-chart spots on the roster vacant while players quarantine.

For Stove and the receivers, one of the most stocked positions on the roster from top to bottom, they’re approaching every drill, practice or scrimmage with the same goal Stove has had for his position mates for years.

“As receivers, I want us to be the best in the country,” Stove said. “So whatever we have to do.”

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