AUBURN | One of the more important position battles during fall camp is at cornerback where Auburn must replace both starters from last season — Noah Igbinoghene and Javaris Davis.

Roger McCreary, the No. 3 corner, has one spot pretty much locked down but the other is up for grabs with two main competitors in sophomore Nehemiah Pritchett and junior Marco Domio, along with redshirt freshman Jaylin Simpson.

“Nehemiah has been practicing really good. Also Domio. He's been practicing really good,” said junior safety Smoke Monday. “Coming from JUCO, his heat is kind of different, and he's been taking it very well. He's been doing the best he can.

“Simpson, Jaylin Simpson, has been contributing very well, also, at the corner spot, even though he plays safety, he's been getting good reps at corner. I feel like he's going to help us this year also.”

Pritchett played in six games as a true freshman last season, recording a team-high four tackles against Samford.

“Nehemiah is one of those guys that came in as a freshman and didn't really say much. He wasn't a talker,” Monday explained. “But one thing I can honestly say about Nehemiah that he's gotten better at is his confidence level. His confidence level has boosted a lot. We feel like he belongs in that spot, and I feel like he's going to prove a lot of people wrong, that he definitely belongs in that spot.

Domio, a Houston, Texas native, played the previous two seasons at Blinn College. He was rated the nation’s No. 3 junior college prospect by Rivals following a sophomore season in which he recorded 26 tackles and a team-best eight pass breakups.

“Picking up the playbook. Picking up the playbook is not an easy thing to do,” Monday said of what’s impressed him about Domio. “He's really smart at knowing what to do on the field, and he's very aware of the situations he's in. So he's a great ballplayer. Like once he got on the field, he's just been growing. And he's being himself at that point.”

Auburn will hold its fourth preseason practice Thursday afternoon before taking Friday off. The Tigers will scrimmage in Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday morning.