Instant impact: freshman linebacker Owen Pappoe 'serious about his business'

Instant impact: freshman linebacker Owen Pappoe 'serious about his business'Instant impact: freshman linebacker Owen Pappoe 'serious about his business'

AUBURN, Ala. – Bo Nix isn't the only true freshman quarterback starting for Auburn this season.

On defense, freshman linebacker Owen Pappoe serves as a QB of sorts on third downs in passing situations.

"When we go dime package, one linebacker, six DBs, he's the one making the checks," linebackers coach Travis Williams said. "He's quarterbacking and he's a true freshman. That's very impressive. To put a kid in those situations when he has to be the quarterback, he has to make the checks.

"A lot of the times when we're in our dime package, it's third down and it's different exotic blitzes, and he has to get everybody set, he has to quarterback it with confidence. I've been very impressed with that."
 

Pappoe has started all 10 games this season, including against LSU, when he was the only linebacker in a lineup that included seven defensive backs.

"He was the linebacker out there making the checks," Williams said. "His pass rush ability and his speed, his athleticism, allows us to do different things. I'm impressed with him being a true freshman able to grasp the defense, the different concepts, and the complex big blitz packages we have. A lot of times, third down, he is the quarterback."

The nation's top-rated outside linebacker prospect at Grayson High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Pappoe enrolled in January, applying the same studious nature he uses in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering to the defensive meeting room.

"Just lay low, take coaching," Pappoe said. "Do everything I can, extra training, being in my playbook. I used to meet with Coach T-Will five times a week, just trying to get everything down because I wanted to come in and make an impact. Taking everything seriously."

"He was determined and he was focused," Williams said "It's really important to him. He really wants to be good. He works hard at it. With him being a true freshman, watching his growth from the time he got here to where he's at now."

Making Pappoe's adjustment even more impressive is the fact that he's playing a different position than in high school, where was more of a hybrid linebacker-defensive back.

"This is really my first true time playing in the box," Pappoe said. "Adjusting to everything, taking on linemen, taking the right steps. Even today, I'm still trying to get better at that. It's a process."

"When he got here he had to learn how to read the linemen, the pullers and different things like that," Williams said. "He just worked hard at it and got better and better every week."

Running back D.J. Williams (Georgia) and defensive lineman Derick Hall (Ole Miss) joined five-star recruits Pappoe and Nix in Auburn's starting lineup in November.

"If you recruit at a high level this day and time, your freshman play," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "The good thing is, they play early. Now, this late in the season, they're not like regular freshmen.

"When you recruit at a high level, these guys want to play early, and we've got a history of guys playing. It's good that anytime freshmen have success like our guys have, it helps with the future, as far as recruiting goes. I think those guys are all really good examples of that."

Pappoe has made 33 tackles, including a season-high seven against LSU. He has 2.5 tackles for loss, including two sacks and a forced fumble.

"He's definitely brought speed because we were targeting speed, adding speed to the room," Williams said. "He fits in the mold of the rest of the guys, being serious about his business. Speed and athleticism."

"I just made sure I picked up everything as fast as I could so I could make an impact," Pappoe said.

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer