The Freeze four have been the headliners of Auburn's receiver room, but the Tigers added players other than the freshmen in the offseason.

Robert Lewis and Keandre Lambert-Smith have flown under the radar in the offseason despite leading their former teams in receiving yards the year prior.

Since Lewis and Smith have both been in college since 2020, they're almost exact opposites of the Freeze four, but the two old heads of the receiver room have been extremely impactful, according to offensive coordinator Derrick Nix.

"You can see a difference," Nix said about Lewis and Lambert-Smith on Wednesday. "I mean, the guy's work ethic, attention to detail, being able to play inside receiver, outside receiver and learning schemes and being a positive influence on all the young guys has been really good. I say the same thing about Dre. Just very experienced, polished."

And because of how long the two have been playing college ball, they know the work it takes to stick at this level, and that has rubbed off on their younger teammates.

"These guys' work ethic is really good," Nix said. "It's been trickling down to the guys who are younger... but seeing what those guys do day-to-day — whether it's going and catching JUGS or coming in later to watch film or study plays. That part has been great, having veteran guys come in and transfer."

Since Smith and Lewis have played collegiately for five years now, they've been around the block and have seen things that only veteran players can speak on.

They're making sure to pass that down to the freshmen.

"Dre and Robert come in and teach me little details in the game that they've just witnessed because they've been in college football a little bit," Perry Thompson told reporters last Thursday. "So I just take it and watch their tape and all that stuff, just to knick and knack little things for myself and just be better."

It's not a secret that there is heavy competition in Auburn's receiver room, and Lewis and Smith are right in the thick of that.

It's easy to feel entitled or jealous in a competition, both in football and real life, but there's been none of that for Auburn's receivers, and a lot of that is thanks to the veteran transfers.

"(Smith) and Robert Lewis both have set a really nice tone of leadership in that room and accountability and showing how to celebrate for the other guys when they do well," Hugh Freeze said during his Friday press conference. "There’s nothing in this world like competition. It will bring out either the best in you, or, I’ve seen some go the other way. It is what it is when that happens, those are the ones you can’t really depend upon. But that competition in that room right now is elevating. Everyone has responded the right way."

Regardless of who wins out in the end, Auburn's staff knows it can trust just about all of the guys in that receiver room, both old and young.

"The good thing about bringing new guys and new blood in is that you get great competition," Nix said. "If you had Coach (Marcus) Davis up here, he'd probably say he felt great about six or seven of them. Any time, you can put them in and roll those guys, and they'll all play at a high level."