With spring football in the rear view mirror, it’s time to fully embrace the Head Ball Coach’s “talkin’ season.” 



The transfer portal carousel is still spinning, so rosters aren’t totally finalized just yet, but we at least have a sense of foundation for each SEC program. So let’s take a stock report for every team in the conference, examining their offense, defense and overall outlook heading into the 2022 season. 



Today we look at the <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/auburn-tigers/">Auburn Tigers</a>. 



<h2 id="h-offense-stock-down">OFFENSE — STOCK DOWN</h2>



We don’t need to rehash all the offseason drama surrounding Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin this offense, but suffice to say, if the former Boise State head coach plans to survive a simmering hot seat he must fix the Tigers’ flaccid attack. 



Auburn had a mostly punchless offense in 2021, especially against Power 5 schools. Only <a href="https://www.on3.com/college/vanderbilt-commodores/">Vanderbilt</a> was worse in the SEC versus  true FBS competition, with the Tigers ranking 13th in both yards per play (5.1) and total yards (366 per game). The offensive line really struggled and AU’s passing attack cratered after Bo Nix went down with an injury. 



It’s not surprising that Harsin moved on from veteran SEC coordinator Mike Bobo. But the problem is the offense didn’t look markedly better — or different at all schematically — this spring. 



The Tigers remain unsettled at quarterback, where <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/tj-finley-113095/">T.J. Finley</a>, <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/robby-ashford-100872/">Robby Ashford</a> and <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/texas-am-aggies/">Texas A&M</a> transfer <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/zach-calzada-122623/">Zach Calzada</a> will all continue to compete for the job<a href="https://www.on3.com/news/sec-quarterback-battles-the-latest-intel/"> in fall camp. Auburn lacks playmaking talent on the perimeter, so it plans to </a>continue to build upon last season’s heavy tight-end, run-game oriented offense. 



“Our approach moving forward is to really set the foundation with the run game,” new offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau said earlier this spring. 



“I think we have got some really talented backs and we’ll start from there. Then we’ll kind of grow, see where it goes from there, but that’s going to be the foundation where we start.”



In theory, Kiesau’s plan makes sense as tailbacks <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/tank-bigsby-110029/">Tank Bigsby</a> and <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/jarquez-hunter-144557/">Jarquez Hunter</a> are Auburn’s best two players and the tight end room is deep, too. 



But that was also the case last year, and Auburn’s run game struggled overall as defenses regularly committed extra defenders to a stacked box, unafraid of AU’s passing attack. 



While Bigsby (1,099 yards, 10 touchdowns) and Hunter (593 yards, three scores) were able to grind their way to yards, the efficiency wasn’t really there. Against SEC opponents, Auburn’s run game averaged just 3.52 yards per carry. 



Considering the unknowns at quarterback and receiver, and although the offensive line returns depth, quality is in question, there’s not a ton to be optimistic about regarding Auburn’s offense heading into the 2022 season. 



<h2 id="h-defense-stock-holding">DEFENSE – STOCK HOLDING</h2>



On the surface, this may seem strange since the Tigers were bleeding defensive linemen to the transfer portal all offseason, but Auburn’s 1st-team defense should still be fairly sound next season. 



Depth is a noted concern, but <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/derick-hall-34896/">Derick Hall </a>is a dude at pass rusher, and the potential 2023 1st Round pick is surrounded by solid pieces like interior linemen <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/colby-wooden-24587/">Colby Wooden</a>,<a href="https://www.on3.com/db/jayson-jones-143609/"> Jayson Jones</a>, an <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/oregon-ducks/">Oregon</a> transfer, <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/marcus-harris-82726/">Marcus Harris</a> and end <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/andrew-leota-5154/">Eku Leota</a>. The Tigers desperately need promising underclassmen <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/jeffrey-m'ba-59797/">Jeffrey M’ba</a>, <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/marquis-burks-84122/">Marquis Burks</a>, <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/zykeivous-walker-123941/">Zykeivous Walker</a> and edge <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/dylan-brooks-39802/">Dylan Brooks</a> to give them something snap-wise this fall. 



Auburn’s pass rush ranked in the middle of the pack in the SEC last season (36 total) but it did harass eventual Heisman Trophy winner <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/bryce-young-15984/">Bryce Young</a> for seven sacks in the Iron Bowl, and there’s a strong case to be made that the Tigers’ pass rush will be better in 2022 — especially if guys like Wooden and Leota continue to develop.



<a href="https://www.on3.com/db/owen-pappoe-94818/">Owen Pappoe</a> is a former five-star recruit who has struggled to stay healthy with the Tigers, but he returned to school to improve his draft position and the time is now for Pappoe to live up to his prep potential. <a href="https://www.on3.com/news/transfer-portal-tracker-sec-west-key-additions-notable-losses-for-every-school/">The Tigers could explore the transfer portal for some</a> additional instant-impact linebacker help, as <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/wesley-steiner-120497/">Wesley Steiner</a>, <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/wesley-steiner-120497/">D</a><a href="https://www.on3.com/db/desmond-tisdol-35638/">esmond Tisdol </a>and Cam Riley have some major shoes to fill with the team’s two leading tacklers from 2021 exhausting their eligibility. Auburn’s secondary also must replace two key pieces off last season’s roster (corner Roger McCreary and safety Smoke Monday), but there’s well-recruited depth there, and the unit looked solid throughout the spring. 



<a href="https://www.on3.com/db/nehemiah-pritchett-91907/">Nehemiah Pritchett </a>looks like a potential breakout candidate at corner, while <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/jaylin-simpson-59045/">Jaylin Simpson</a>, Oregon transfer <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/dj-james-142745/">D.J. James</a> and top-JUCO <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/keionte-scott-146078/">Keionte Scott</a> are talented players. Safeties <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/zion-puckett-123865/">Zion Puckett</a>, if he can stay healthy, and <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/donovan-kaufman-144415/">Donovan Kaufman</a> are a good duo, too. The Tigers only ranked 12th in the SEC in pass defense in 2021 and picked off just nine passes (second-worst in the SEC). If the rush is even a tick better, Auburn’s secondary should exceed last season’s play as well. 



<h2 id="h-2022-overall-outlook-stock-down">2022 OVERALL OUTLOOK — STOCK DOWN</h2>



Not even a gallon of milk could help cleanse Auburn’s spicy offense. Harsin outlasted a ridiculous coup attempt by angry boosters, but he still enters the fall in a particularly precarious situation. 



He’s fully-aware that X-percentage (name your own number) don’t want him on The Plains much longer, so he enters Year 2 with must-win expectations without the requisite support or alignment. Oh, and Auburn’s overall roster is worse than it was last season. 



The Tigers are dealing with changes to both coordinators, a quarterback competition and a transfer portal that hasn’t been overly kind. The schedule, while somewhat manageable to start the season (five straight home games), includes six consensus preseason Top 25 teams (<a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/penn-state-nittany-lions/">Penn State</a>, <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/georgia-bulldogs/">Georgia</a>,<a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/ole-miss-rebels/"> Ole Miss</a>, <a href="https://www.on3.com/college/arkansas-razorbacks/">Arkansas</a>, <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/texas-am-aggies/">Texas A&M</a> and <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/alabama-crimson-tide/">Alabama</a>). 



Harsin could use some good fortune after an ugly smear campaign was ignited to get him fired, but only time will tell if he can win enough in 2022 to survive more predicable tumult coming his way later this fall.

Auburn Tigers: Post-spring stock report

team image

The Main Board

Football

Basketball

Women's Basketball

Softball

Baseball

Teams

Fan Sites

Forums

Shows

team-link

College Football News

College Football Player Rankings

College Football Rankings

College Football Playoff

College Basketball News

Women's Sports

College

NIL News

NIL Valuation

NIL Deals

NIL Deal Tracker

Sports Business

Transfer Portal News

NCAA Transfer Portal News

NCAA Transfer Portal

Transfer Portal Rankings

Transfer Portal Team Rankings

Transfer Portal

NCAA Transfer Portal Home

Football Recruiting

Basketball Recruiting

Database

Team Rankings

Player Rankings

Industry Comparison

Commitments

Recruiting Prediction Machine

Recruiting

High School News

Schools

High School Search

Rankings

High School Rankings

Scores

High School Scores

High School

NFL Draft

NFL Draft News

Draft By Stars

College Draft History

College Draft Totals

NBA Draft

NBA Draft News

Draft

NASCAR

Culture

Sports Betting

About

On3 App

Advertise

Press

Contact

Alabama

Arizona State

Arizona

Arkansas

Auburn

Baylor

Boston College

California

Removed

Clemson

Colorado

Duke

Florida

Florida State

Georgia

Georgia Tech

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Kentucky

Lettermen Row

Lettermen Lounge

Louisville

Maryland

Miami

Michigan State

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi State

Missouri

NC State

Nebraska

North Carolina

Northwestern

Notre Dame

Ohio State

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Ole Miss

Oregon

Oregon State

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Purdue

Rutgers

South Carolina

Stanford

Syracuse

Tennessee

Texas A&M

Texas

Texas Tech

UCLA

Utah

Vanderbilt

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Washington

Washington State

West Virginia

Wisconsin

BamaOnLine

BOL Round Table

Inside Texas

IT Members Only

DawgsHQ

Dawg Walk

Scoop Duck

Recruiting & Sports

AuburnSports

The Corner

WeAreSC

GarryP's Trojan Huddle

The Wolverine

The Fort

The Lions Den

The Wolfpacker

The Wolves’ Den

GatorsOnline

Swamp Talk

Alabama A&M

Alabama State

Albany

Alcorn State

Abilene Christian

Appalachian State

Akron

Army

Austin Peay

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Arkansas-Little Rock

Arkansas State

Air Force

Ball State

American

Wofford

Winthrop

Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Wisconsin-Green Bay

Wichita State

Western Carolina

Volleyball

Gymnastics

Men's Lacrosse

Women's Lacrosse

Men's Soccer

Women's Soccer

Women's Track

Men's Golf

Women's Golf

Men's Hockey

Women's Hockey

Men's Swimming

Women's Swimming

Wrestling

Men's Tennis

Women's Tennis

Annual $1

Annual Premium

Annual $1 

Monthly

Annual

Unlimited Access to This and All Articles.

Article (On3 Plus Rivals)

Forum (On3 Plus Rivals)

Intro

Join

College scoop, experts, and community - all in one.

Winback

Transfer Portal {{ hot }}

Auburn Tigers: Post-spring stock report

Charles Bediako

AP Poll

Bracketology update

Way-Too-Early Top 25

Deion Sanders