AUBURN | Kevin Steele knew Auburn had a special player in Ladarius Tennison. He just wanted to get the true freshman started a little earlier.
Tennison is beginning to assert himself as a backup nickel in the last two games, but Steele, the Tigers’ fifth-year defensive coordinator, believes he could have been an impact player from the start if the early enrollee had 15 spring practices under his belt.
Auburn was forced to cancel spring drills due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“He’s a violent tackler. He’s extremely quick. He loves to compete, highly competitive guy. He just needed repetition,” Steele said. “I think what you see is he’s coming into his own. Had meaningful snaps in the LSU game early in the game. We would have probably seen that earlier in the year had we had traditional preparation because he’s a talented young man.”
Tennison has played in all six games this season and has seen his snap count increase from five against Kentucky to 10 at Ole Miss and then 24 against LSU.
But even in very limited action in the opener against the Wildcats, Tennison played a part in one of the biggest plays of the game when he helped Jordyn Peters sniff out a fake punt attempt.
“Right before they ran the fake, me and Tennison and some of the other guys were saying, ‘fake, fake, fake,’ and knew it was coming … When it came time to make the play, I was in the right place at the right time,” said Peters.
It may have taken Tennison a little time to get going in Auburn’s secondary but veteran cornerback Roger McCreary knew early during preseason practice the Tigers had brought in a special newcomer.
“He’s aggressive. He does not back down from anybody. He’s not scared to go up against nobody,” McCreary said. “He has great coverage when we go 1-on-1 and everything. For his size, he has everything. That dude is going to be something special, I can see it already.”
Auburn is scheduled to play its next game against Tennessee on Nov. 21. Kickoff at Jordan-Hare Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
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