Ike Hillard details next step for Auburn wide receivers to improve

On3 imageby:Andrew Graham08/12/22

AndrewEdGraham

As Auburn football closes in on its Sept. 3 opener against Mercer, wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard spoke briefly about the progress of the Tigers’ wideouts. After a tough 2021 season on the plains, there have been no issues with effort during camp so far. And now, Hilliard said, it’s time to push ahead.

With the Auburn receivers putting in more than satisfactory effort, Hilliard wants to really start challenging players on the mental side, he said. That is where they will “press the learning curve.”

“The mental aspect of football is where we’re going to continue to push,” Hilliard said. “Try to press the learning curve in that regard. The next step is just working on the consistency of it all in terms of playmaking and detail. And we’re going to do our job as players and coaches to accelerate that.”

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Auburn brings back just two players from its 2021 team that had 30 or more receptions and only one is a wide receiver: Shedrick Jackson, who had 40 catches for 527 yards last year. (The other is tight end John Samuel Shenker, 33 catches for 413 yards.) The Tigers also bring back just one receiver who had multiple touchdown receptions last year in Ja’Varrius Johnson, who had two in 2021.

Needless to say, there’s a lot of receiving production to fill for the Tigers and there will be plenty of opportunity for this group.

“Things are going well,” Hilliard said. “There’s always room for improvement. It’s never going to be as good as you like it to be. Kids are working hard. We’re really, really glad that we haven’t had to worry about the effort part of it. They’re putting in the physical, physical work.”

And of course, Hilliard wants to keep pressing the Auburn wide receivers to improve.

“We’re going to do our job as players and coaches to accelerate that,” Hilliard said. “We’re in a good place right now with where it is but it could always be better.”