re: How good will Auburn be next year?

Biggest loss is definitely Carlson.
I'm worried about Special Teams. Coverage was abysmal this year. Punter has been an issue since Steven Clark graduated after 2013, but we are bringing in an Aussie that should be good.
Of course we replace Daniel Carlson at K with his little brother Anders, but I'm a little worried that the expectations to live up to his older brother could get to his head and negatively affect him.


Running back will be interesting to see how the carries are split next year. I'm not worried about it, this is Auburn and we aren't going to have a bad RB, but there isn't a 5* future superstar waiting in the wings either. We do have several guys that are very solid though, a couple with break out potebtial. But the most experienced guy will be Kam Martin with just shy of 800 career rushing yards. And while he has big play potential, he's a small dude that won't be able to carry the load by himself.
Luckily next year we will have a luxury with the running game that Auburn hasn't had in a long time, in that if we struggle to get the tun game going then we can always lean more on the passing game with Stidham and literally every single WR returning(barring transfers, knock on wood).

I think to start the season you'll most likely see Kam Martin and Devan Barrett spilt most of the carries.
Malik Miller probably gets short yardage carries, he's like a poor mans off brand Pettway.
Then you have true freshman Asa Martin and rsFR Jartavious Whitlow who I think will be mixed in early, with one gaining a large role by the end of the year.

But honestly the RB I'm most excited about for Auburn most likely won't even play for Auburn next season, he'll be redshirting and putting on weight. A signer named Shaun Shivers who is basically a clone of Darren Sproles, except more polished out of HS (largest class of Florida vs Kansas HS football), and his track times are an arse hair quicker.


Lose a whole lot of experience on the OL. Obviously there will be growing pains there, but once guys get comfortable and learn their roles, I really think the only guy that will really be missed is the monster named Braden Smith. Our tackles were shite this year. Their replacements are raw, young, and inexperienced, but there's three of them with the raw physical tools to have Pro Bowl potential. Guards should be good, but I'm not sure who will play Center.


As for the defense the two biggest losses aren't even the two leaving early (Holland and Carlton Davis), but our two 3 yr starting safeties, Trey Matthews and Stephen Roberts, graduating. Top backup Nick Ruffin is also graduating. Im not a fan of any of their backups currently on the team, I don't think any of them are SEC level starter quality.
However we have signed 3 safety prospects already. Remember the names Monday and Sherwood because those two are one of the next big time safety duos in the SEC. Monday especially I'm huge on, possibly my favorite player in this class outside of Shivers. I expect Monday at least to start in 2018, if not Sherwood too.

And obviously it sucks losing players as good as Carlton Davis and Jeff Holland, we're honestly loaded at their positions. I'm more worried about replacing Holland's leadership and locker room presence than I am about replacing their production.

At Buck we have former 5* TD Moultry and Big Kat Bryant who both looked damn good in their limited time this year. Especially Moultry who was playing a lot by the Iron Bowl.
The other 3 DL will all be upperclassmen returning starters, former 5*s Marlon Davidson and Derrick Brown, and Dontavious Russell who a lot of people thought was more likely to go pro than Holland. I'm expecting big years out of all 3. Derrick Brown in particular is a freak of nature and I am positive he will have a huge break out season next year, probably end up a top 10 2019 pick.

At CB, Jamel Dean actually graded out the highest of any player on the team according to PFF. Javaris Davis makes huge plays. Dinson has a lot of quality experience. Several other high talent guys there.



I predict another 10-2 season. We should still dominate the teams like Arkansas, Miss schools, etc.
But this is Auburn, so I wouldn't be shocked to see us blow a game, or two, or a few, we should win to a lesser team like LSU. Then we'll probably lose our bowl game, because Gus Malzahn, and end up 8-5.