In just 13 games during the previous season, the Auburn Tigers completed just 189 passes, with 91 of those passes going to running backs and tight ends. Hugh Freeze and head coach Marcus Davis knew they had to make improvements at wide receiver when they came to the Plains, so they tried to bring in some veterans to provide a stopgap measure the previous season, but it didn’t work. As the Tigers get ready to play in the final week of February, Auburn has added two transfers for spring practice in addition to two significant signings who are currently on campus.
Auburn’s attempt last season to close the gap with the older group failed, as one-year players Shane Hooks, Jyaire Shorter, and Nick Mardner went after combining to grab 11 catches for 154 yards and two scores. Along with Omari Kelly and Malcolm Johnson Jr., veteran Ja’Varrius Johnson was also lost by Auburn via the transfer portal.
Auburn has returned Caleb Burton, Camden Brown, and Koy Moore from the previous squad, along with Jay Fair, who caught 31 passes for 324 yards and two scores. Brown added 10 receptions for 105 yards, while Burton, who emerged late in the season, finished with 16 catches for 226 yards. Moore’s 24 yards on three catches was all he had the previous year. That is all. Auburn’s returning wide receivers account for just 60 catches, 679 yards, and two scores.
Robert Lewis from Georgia State joins Auburn via the transfer portal. He had a breakout season for the Panthers last year, catching 61 catches for 618 yards and four scores. Lewis, who stands 5-10 and 178 pounds, is more of an interior player but is also capable of playing outside.
Sam Jackson, an Auburn transfer from Cal, is the team’s wild card. Jackson, who played quarterback for TCU and Cal before switching back to wide receiver for the Tigers, could be a major player this season given his early results since joining the team.
Listed at 5-10, 186, Jackson was Payton Thorne’s teammate at Napierville, Illinois. As a sophomore, Jackson excelled as a wide receiver, catching 50 receptions for 847 yards and 14 touchdowns before transferring to quarterback. Jackson is a dynamic athlete who should have an immediate effect when he arrives on school in the spring.
Even if the portal additions might have an impact, Auburn anticipates a large amount of assistance from its class of incoming freshmen. Cam Coleman, a five-star recruit, and Bryce Cain, a four-star recruit, are already on campus for the spring semester.
Coleman, who is listed at 6-3, 188, was considered one of the best players in the 2024 class after leading Central Phenix City to the 7A championship with impressive stats. Coleman, the 7A Back of the Year Award winner from the Alabama Sports Writers Association, was a senior who caught 61 receptions for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns, the most of which came in the first half of games. Coleman is a dynamic athlete who offers exceptional ball skills and size to the Auburn attack this spring.
Cain, a lightning-fast 5-10, 153-pound player, played baseball for Baker High in Mobile before switching to football for his final two seasons. After demonstrating significant promise during his junior year, Cain caught 43 passes for 948 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Hornets. Cain is a true game-breaker, and Auburn’s strategy should benefit greatly from his speed and elusiveness.