Secondary help has arrived
AUBURN | Auburn’s defense has steadily improved over the past three seasons into one of the nation’s best units. But if if that trend is to continue, the Tigers will need some immediate help in the secondary for next season.
Fortunately, Auburn signed three defensive backs on the first day of the early signing period and all three will be enrolling in school in January to get an early start on their college careers.
“You see the guys we’re losing – our two senior safeties. We’re recruiting those guys to come in and help us, and they know it,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “They all three have a skill set that can, and the great thing is all three are going to be here early and they’ll go through spring. I just think that is very, very valuable.”
Auburn’s top three safeties — Tray Matthews, Stephen Roberts and Nick Ruffin — are all seniors. Four-star safeties Smoke Monday and Jamien Sherwood, who signed Wednesday morning, will be counted on to compete right away.
Monday, 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, put up electric numbers on both sides of the ball as a senior at Carver High School in Atlanta, Ga. He finished with 72 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, one forced fumble, a fumble recovery, seven blocked punts and seven interceptions on defense. On offense, he had 46 receptions for 1,016 yards and 15 touchdowns.
“Monday is a tall, rangy guy,” Malzahn said. “We think he can play corner, can play safety. He really plays with an edge and has a great personality. We're very excited about him.”
Sherwood, 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, had 21 tackles, seven tackles-for-loss, a sack, three pass breakups and two interceptions, one he returned 64 yards for a touchdown as a senior at Jensen Beach (Fla.) High. He added three touchdowns on offense.
“A big, athletic guy,” Malzahn said. “He played offense, played defense. I know a lot of schools were recruiting him to play offense. He's got that ability. I'm very excited about Jamien.”
At cornerback, there’s a distinct possibility junior Carlton Davis will declare for the 2018 NFL Draft, leaving Auburn with just two cornerbacks with extensive playing experience — Javaris Davis and Jamel Dean.
Auburn signed four-star Christian Tutt out Thomson (Ga.) High Wednesday to help shore up the depth at corner. Tutt had 51 tackles, one interception, four pass breakups and a forced fumble as a senior. He scored 11 total touchdowns on offense including seven rushing and four receiving, and also returned one punt and one kickoff for scores.
“He really plays with an edge,” Malzahn said. “He's got really good ball skills. He's a very good returner. What really stands out to me is his competitiveness. I'm very excited about him.”
Auburn will likely return five experienced defensive backs next year with Davis and Dean at corner, and Daniel Thomas, Jeremiah Dinson and Jordyn Peters at safety and nickel. The depth chart behind those five is wide open.
Malzahn is hoping to add another cornerback or two before the final Signing Day on Feb. 7.
“We’ll still be recruiting some corners,” Malzahn said.