If there were any questions about whether the lauded freshmen wide receiver class would make an impact for Auburn in their college debut, that was put to rest on the very first offensive play of the 2024 season. Payton Thorne dropped back and hit Malcolm Simmons for a 12-yard gain.

After a catch by KeAndre Lambert-Smith and a face mask penalty, Thorne looked Simmons' way again, but it was broken up. It was one of the few times the veteran quarterback didn't connect with his talented young receivers.

Thorne hit a wide-open Cam Coleman on the third possession, who juked his defender so badly that he might want to erase the play from his memory. The result was Coleman's first Auburn catch and first touchdown.

Coleman knew it was coming before the ball was even snapped.

"Yeah, well, they had no safety," he said. "So I was like, 'Oh, yeah. That's bingo.' Then they called it. I looked at Coach Heath. We made eye contact. I was like, 'It's go time.' Then me and Payton made eye contact. It was go time. Then I saw it. When I stuttered, I saw him fall. I was like, 'Oh, yeah, it's coming.' And I looked up, and I was wide open. I was like, 'Don't drop it, don't drop it.' Then I caught it. Touchdown."

Perry Thompson wanted his share, too. The Foley, Ala. native had to wait until the second quarter to get his first touch: a 12-yard out from Thorne, but he didn't wait long to put his name in the touchdown column. Running a post on the next play, Thorne hit Thompson in stride, and he did the rest on a 70-yard jaunt into the end zone.

"It was crazy," Thompson said. "So first we got a hitch play, so he threw the hitch. Then after we run tempo, so two I spot the ball. I saw him take one post, so I was like, 'Oh yeah, it's coming.' So I get lined up real fast, run it, boom, see the ball in there, got to grab it there. As I'm running I'm like, I'm really going to score my actual first college football touchdown. So I was just overwhelmed with excitement."

Simmons was at it again on Auburn's first drive of the second half. After dropping a pass from Hank Brown, he made up for it by catching the next one and outrunning his defender for a 57-yard touchdown. Simmons beating defenders using his speed will be the norm.

Ironically, Simmons' first touchdown wasn't on a reception. After Micah Riley blocked an A&M punt, he picked it up and got in the end zone, even if he didn't see the ball at first.

"It got blocked and I'm out there, I'm like, 'Where's the ball?'" Simmons said. "As you can see, I'm looking, I'm like, 'Where the ball at?'"

This was what Auburn fans, and for sure, the Tigers' coaches, wanted to see from these star-studded freshmen after hauling them in in the 2024 recruiting class. They have been called the future of the program, and deservedly so. In the past few years, the Tigers have struggled to find receivers who can turn a regular play into an explosive one. Hugh Freeze has preached the need for those guys, including the signing of Lambert-Smith out of the transfer portal, who scored the Bulldogs for a 67-yard touchdown on the first play of Auburn's second possession.

Now, let's not overblow this considering the opponent, but it was a positive sign of what is to come from this group. The bright lights weren't too big for them, starting from the first snap.

And the numbers back it up.

Coleman, Simmons and Thompson combined for seven catches for 235 yards and four touchdowns. It's not exactly a bad debut outing for the trio.

"If I could have dreamt it up and said, 'Hey, I'd love for all three of 'em to score, that would've been really nice," Freeze said afterward.

There is still work for them to do to live up to the hype centered around them following their signings. There will be speed bumps along the way, as there are for any freshman adjusting to college. But on Saturday night, the freshmen shined.

The future has arrived.