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AUBURN — Auburn football’s defense will be under new management in 2024.
After former defensive coordinator Ron Roberts left this offseason for a job at Florida, the Tigers replaced him with former Maryland coach DJ Durkin, who has spent the last four seasons as a DC in the SEC.
Ole Miss had the No. 14 and No. 11 defenses in the conference in terms of yards allowed per game under Durkin in 2020 and 2021, respectively, and Texas A&M ranked No. 7 and No. 3 in the two seasons Durkin spent with the Aggies in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Auburn’s defense is down six starters from last season — cornerbacks DJ James and Nehemiah Pritchett, safeties Jaylin Simpson and Zion Puckett and defensive linemen Marcus Harris and Justin Rogers — and a few key rotation pieces such as linebacker Larry Nixon III and defensive back Donovan Kaufman have left as well.
With preseason practices beginning Thursday, here are our final predictions for who will start on the defensive side for the Tigers in 2024:
OTHER SIDE: Final prediction for Auburn football’s offensive depth chart before fall camp begins
MONITOR: Hank Brown vs. Holden Geriner among notable Auburn position battles to watch at fall camp
Buck
Jalen McLeod
Keyron Crawford
Jamonta Waller
Joseph Phillips
The goal of adding transfer Keyron Crawford (Arkansas State) and a couple of four-star freshmen is so that Jalen McLeod, who averaged 43.7 snaps per game in 2023, doesn’t have to play as much. Keeping his legs fresh and limiting those reps to around 35 per game would be ideal.
Defensive tackle
Gage Keys OR Philip Blidi
DJ Reed OR Malik Blocton
Rotation will be the name of the game along the defensive line, so expect to see plenty of these players getting reps. Transfers Gage Keys (Kansas) and Philip Blidi (Indiana) appear to be the top two at defensive tackle, though. Keys may get the nod…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/locking-predictions-auburn-footballs-defensive-090651553.html
Author : The Montgomery Advertiser
Publish date : 2024-07-31 09:06:51
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