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College Football Countdown: 5 Things That Must Go Right for Auburn in 2016

By Jake Mastroianni

Nov 28, 2015; Auburn, AL, USA; General view of a flyover prior to the game between the Auburn Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2015; Auburn, AL, USA; General view of a flyover prior to the game between the Auburn Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 30, 2014; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers wide receiver Melvin Ray (82) scores a touchdown in the first quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports /

Somebody has to Step Up at Wide Receiver

Ricardo Louis was Auburn’s leading receiver a year ago with 716 yards on 46 catches, which isn’t great by any means, but it was good enough to get him drafted by the Cleveland Browns.

With Louis now gone, Auburn’s leading receiver returning from last year is Melvin Ray who had 279 yards catching. Ray, Marcus Davis and Tony Stevens all return to the receiving core, but I don’t see any of them breaking out into star pass catchers in 2016.

Instead, Auburn fans will have to hope they find their breakout wide receiver from a group of very talented freshman that will be on The Plains this fall. Nate Craig-Myers, Kyle Davis and Eli Stove all have the potential to put up big numbers for Auburn’s offense this college football season.

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Craig-Myers is probably the most likely candidate to break out, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Davis finds a niche in Malzahn’s offense.

Of course, a lot of this depends on who the quarterback is going to be this year. While neither White nor Johnson found much success through the air last season, it wasn’t all their fault as there weren’t any reliable options at wide out. That shouldn’t be the case this college football season as whomever is behind center will have plenty of options to throw to.

Malzahn already has a solid running back in Jovon Robinson, now it’s time for someone to break out at the wide receiver position in 2016 to help get this offense moving.

Next: Better Red Zone Efficiency

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