AUBURN, Ala. – If you want a preview of what the Auburn defense is capable of this coming season, look back at last year's Iron Bowl. For three quarters, the Tigers held Alabama without a point. For 59 minutes, they kept the Crimson Tide out of the end zone.
"We're building off that going into the season now," said senior edge Derick Hall who had six tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and three sacks against Alabama.
For Hall and his teammates, it's simple. If the other team can't score, they can't win.
"Offense wins games. Defense wins championships," Hall said. "Just having that mentality in the back of our heads, knowing that we're the rock of this team – if they can't score, they can't win. The game is on our back every time we go out and play."
There was a similar mentality in 2019 when Auburn's defense served as the catalyst for what turned into a 9-3 season with a win over in-state rival Alabama. The Tigers didn't give up more than 24 points in any of their three regular-season losses, and that included a 23-20 loss at LSU against the eventual Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow.
Some of the current Auburn players, like Hall, were a part of that 2019 defense.
Cornerback Jaylin Simpson was a true freshman who played in just four games, but he could see there was something different about that group. Now a projected starter heading into this season, Simpson is starting to see some similarities from this year's group.
"I'm excited because when I first got here that 2019 team – that defense was crazy," he said. "We've all had our heads down this whole summer, and I feel like a little bit of that defense is coming out. We've been working so hard."
"I love it," Hall said. "We come to work every day. Everybody is ticking, everybody is working, everybody is moving around. It does resemble a lot of the 2019 defense."
In 2019, it started up front with the defensive line and the pass rush. This season, it's no different. On the edge, the Tigers have Hall and Eku Leota, who combined for 16 sacks last season, and there's little to no drop off in the middle with the return of Colby Wooden, a preseason Second Team All-SEC selection, and Marcus Harris.
Auburn also should have more depth up front this season with the additions of transfers Jayson Jones (Oregon), Morris Joseph Jr. (Memphis) and Marcus Bragg (WKU), along with Jeffrey M'Ba, the No. 1 junior college player in the country.
The X-factor for this defense, however, might be a healthy Owen Pappoe. The linebacker missed eight games last year but as a sophomore in 2020, he recorded 93 tackles in 11 games.
"He's looking healthier than ever," Simpson said. "That's a scary sight for other people."
Pappoe is anchoring a linebacker unit that is light on experience but loaded with potential. Juniors Cam Riley and Wesley Steiner should each take on a bigger role, and Auburn added another transfer with Eugene Asante coming from North Carolina.
In the secondary, Simpson and fellow cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett will look to offset the loss of Roger McCreary, a second-round pick in the NFL Draft. The duo combined for eight pass break-ups a season ago and each had an interception. The Tigers also get back safeties Zion Puckett and Donovan Kaufman, the third- and fourth-leading tacklers returning from last year who will have ample opportunities with Smoke Monday now in the NFL.
If this Auburn defense wants to duplicate what it did in last year's Iron Bowl or what the 2019 defense did, there's one word that needs to stick out. Physical.
"That's something I thought I was going to see last year," former Auburn linebacker Takeo Spikes said. "But now I think it's really going to be an imprint of what Coach (Bryan) Harsin believes and what he's going to drill inside of this team in training camp."
