After just 18 days in Auburn and a handful of days of fall camp, new Tigers receiver Zach Farrar is settling in well with his new squad.

Farrar, a grad transfer from Youngstown State who reported to campus in mid-June, was signed by Auburn to help fill the gap at split end receiver and inject some experience into the Tigers’ receiving unit as a whole.

“When he gets out there, it feels like a veteran guy,” Gus Malzahn said of Farrar at Auburn’s fall camp. “He was excited to be out here. He’s learning too. You’ve got to understand he just showed up so he’s learning, but he’s learning quick.”

In the one limited viewing window of Auburn’s fall practices so far, Farrar wasn’t treated as a veteran. He stood on the sidelines and watched as Marquis McClain and Matthew Hill took first- and second-team reps at split end, respectively.

As camp rolls on and the new players learn the ropes, Farrar will get his shot to carve out a role in the group.

“I think he’s a great receiver,” senior receiver Will Hastings said of his impressions of Farrar. “I think he’s a good kid; he knows how to run routes. … I’m ready to see him put the pads on and see what he’s got.”

Auburn is Farrar’s fourth college football team in as many years. A former 3-star signee in Oklahoma’s 2016 class, Farrar redshirted one season with the Sooners before transferring to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in 2017. From there he bounced to Youngstown State, where he caught 20 passes for 307 yards and a touchdown in six games played.

The stats haven’t been flashy, but that’s not why Auburn brought him in. At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Farrar is shown on tape to be able to stretch the field vertically — something Malzahn wants desperately out of his outside receivers in order to open things up for the run game and the short-to-intermediate throws for his new quarterback.

Malzahn said this year he’s installing his offensive scheme faster than ever before to test the quarterbacks. And he’s not slowing down to accommodate for the newcomers.

But after a few days of that into-the-fire approach, Malzahn said Farrar’s “natural ability” for his size has caught the head coach's eye.

The Tigers suited up in shells for the first time in camp Sunday. They’ll put on full pads Tuesday before the first scrimmage of the fall Thursday. After the 11-on-11 inside Jordan-Hare Stadium — where all non-quarterbacks and healthy players will be live — Malzahn said he’ll be focused on playing fast and seeing how the offense responds, the journeyman Farrar included.

“He’s still kind of learning, but you can tell he’s got a skill set, now,” Malzahn said of Farrar. “He’s still coming along. Like I said, probably for him, it’s not the best that we’ve been putting out installs in a little bit quicker. But you can tell he’s got some natural ability.”