Luke Deal breaks down Auburn tight ends group, impressed by teammates
AUBURN — With so many new faces on this roster, senior Luke Deal knows that his teammates will be looking to him as a leader as spring practices progress.
Although the tight ends have a new coach in Ben Aigamaua, the older guys in their room are returners aside from Rivaldo Fairweather. This transfer was one of Aigamaua’s first moves at Auburn.
Deal has dealt with many large and small coaching changes during his time at Auburn. He said that Aigamaua has “everything that you are looking for in a new coach,” though.
“He is open to asking us how we learn better, things that help us better, so I think that’s a big deal and he’s doing a great job,” Deal added on Wednesday afternoon. “We love having him there.”
This new staff has made it apparent that this offense will have a faster tempo and the tight ends will play a bigger role in the passing offense. Deal said that his position is tasked with learning the entire route tree. This will allow Auburn’s offense to wear-out opposing defenses while keeping them on their toes.
“…The passing game is going to be a big deal for us with kind of pairing the physical run game that our room brings, that the running backs bring,” Deal said. “I think that’s going to be really good for us”.
Deal is accompanied by returners in Tyler Fromm and Brandon Frazier. Fairweather is a junior transfer from FIU that brings a lot of talent to this already skilled room.
“He’s a really good receiver,” Deal said. “We were excited to have him in here. He’s meshed well with the group, so we’re bringing him in and everybody’s doing pretty well.”
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Deal said that the redshirt freshman Micah Riley-Ducker reminded him of himself at first. The Nebraska native saw four games last year with his first bit of playing time being against Mercer. Deal acknowledged the progress that the 6’5 tight end already made this year.
“… You can tell his speed has gotten better, he’s really crisp in and out of routes,” Deal said. “He’s just a hard worker, good dude. He he took no time coming in last year and just meshing with our group and we love him.”
