March 23, 2018
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" As a freshman, Nate Craig-Myers was the prized recruit everybody wanted to see make an immediate impact. As a sophomore, he was the uber-talented wide receiver everybody was hoping would break out. Now as he enters his junior year, he's become the savvy veteran who still believes his best football is yet to come.
It's not as if Craig-Myers didn't make an impact last year. He finished with 16 catches for 285 yards and three touchdowns ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" two of those touchdowns came against Alabama and against Georgia in the SEC championship ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" but the coaches believe he's only scratched the surface.
"Nate is a guy that Kodi (Burns) is asking a lot more of to take that next step, and he's really responding," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said after Thursday's practice. "You can just sense that ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" this is the third year in the offense. He just knows it and reacts. He's helping coach some of those younger guys.
"That's always a good sign when the older guys get to a point where they can start coaching the younger guys, too. And Nate's a guy, he has the ability to make plays down the field."
As a result, Burns is giving Craig-Myers more opportunities to make those plays downfield this spring. We saw it in last year's spring game when the rising sophomore caught multiple deep balls from Jarrett Stidham and finished with five catches for a team-high 154 yards, but now it's about carrying that over into the fall and making those plays during the season.
"I felt like the (coaches) always believed in me," Craig-Myers said. "And my teammates always believed in me. It's just that trust factor. They're finally getting to that level, so I feel good."
Craig-Myers will be the first to tell you that he could've performed better last season. Watching the film, it was clear that he didn't get enough separation from the defensive backs. There were also times where the defenses made it difficult for him to get open.
He didn't get frustrated, though. He found other ways to help the team. He became one of the team's better blockers amongthe wide receiver group.
"The big thing is our coach wants us to block," Craig-Myers said. "If you block, you know you're going to get the ball. I feel like I made that step in blocking."
This spring, the rising junior is also becoming more of a leader.
"(Last season), I just put my head down and went to work," Craig-Myers said. "Being a junior now, I just have to help out my teammates and lead. I had guys that showed me the ropes, and now I'm trying to just help out the younger guys. "
On the mend
Malzahn updated the status of a handful of players following Thursday's practice as the Tigers prepare for Saturday's scrimmage, the first of the spring.
For starters, Malzahn confirmed that wide receiver Eli Stove tore his ACL the practice before spring break. He had surgery over the break that went extremely well, and Malzahn believes there's a chance he could return during the season. Will he be ready by September?
"We'll see," Malzahn said. "I expect him to be back in the season. We'll see how everything goes, but he's in good shape. The surgery went well."
Quarterback Jarrett Stidham threw with the wide receivers during Thursday's practice, but the plan is to wait until Tuesday to do any kind of 7-on-7 or team drills against the defense. That means the young guns, Malik Willis and Joey Gatewood, are expected to receive all the team reps during Saturday's scrimmage.
Lastly, wide receiver Ryan Davis did not practice Thursday with flu symptoms. However, the coaches expect him back and ready to go by Saturday.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf