Dec. 19, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" When you have the SEC's leading rusher, it can be easy to forget about the wide receiver group. But as good as Kerryon Johnson was this season, it's hard to ignore the jump that Auburn's wide receivers made from last year to this year.
Last year, Tony Stevens led the Tigers with 31 receptions and three touchdowns. He was the only player on the team to catch more than two touchdowns.
This year, Ryan Davis matched his reception total by the first Saturday in October on his way to setting Auburn's single-season record with 76 receptions, and he was one of four players who caught three or more touchdowns on this year's team. He and Darius Slayton caught five touchdowns apiece, which is more than every receiver had combined (8) a year ago.
"I feel really good," Slayton said. "I feel like we've had a really good year as a room. Obviously, we've got guys like Ryan Davis and Nate [Craig-Myers] who make great plays on third down and who are just really consistent catching (the ball). I've been able to do my part as well."
"But just the room as a whole, Jarrett [Stidham] has done a great job of spreading the ball around, and everybody has done a good job of making plays when the ball is in their hands."
Obviously, the addition of Stidham at quarterback has played a major role in the development of the wide receivers. The sophomore has thrown for 2,827 yards with 17 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He also led the SEC in completion percentage (66.7) and was recently named the league's Newcomer of the Year along with Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm.
But first-year offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey has made an impact as well. Last year, only 38 percent of Auburn's offense came through the air. This year, it's almost 50-50, and that emphasis on the passing game, those consistent looks, have done nothing but help the wide receivers.
"For every play that we've run in a game, we've probably repped that play a lot -- 10 or 15 times (in practice)," Lindsey said. "Obviously, those reps in practice are extremely important. When you count 7-on-7, team settings, all the individual drills we do, they're getting a lot of reps and you can see them improving."
"It definitely helps in terms of confidence, in terms of rhythm, and just getting to know your quarterback and him getting to know you," added Slayton.
That chemistry between Stidham and his receivers is only going to get better considering that every current receiver on Auburn's roster who caught a pass this season is an underclassmen and will likely be back in 2018. That means Slayton, Davis, Craig-Myers, Eli Stove, Will Hastings and others will get another full offseason of working with Stidham and developing their rapport together.
Add to the mix freshmen Marquis McClain and Noah Igbinoghene, who both played sparingly this season and have stood out during the bowl practices this week, and the wide receiver corps should be one of the strengths for Auburn heading into next season.
That's a vast improvement from where the group was at this time a year ago.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf