Auburn Football: Special Teams, Defensive Line Best Units in 2016
As we get closer to the start of college football season it’s time to look at the strongest position units for Auburn football, which is the special teams and defensive line units.
According to Phil Steele’s magazine, Auburn has the second best special team’s unit in the SEC and sixth best in the country thanks in part to Lou Groza finalist Daniel Carlson at kicker. In 2015 Carlson was 23-27 on field goal tries with a long of 56. He also hit all 40 of his extra point attempts, and 49 of his 69 kickoffs went for touchbacks.
It’s never great when you’re special teams unit is labeled as the best unit on your team, so we’re going to focus on Auburn’s second best unit, which is the defensive line. Even though Auburn’s defensive line ranks as the ninth best in the SEC, that’s good enough to rank as the 21st best in the country.
The main reason for the group being ranked so highly is the return of defensive end Carl Lawson after considering leaving early for the NFL. As a freshman Lawson had 20 tackles, 7.5 for a loss and 4 sacks. He didn’t play at all in 2014 due to injury, and then was injured in the first game of the 2015 season, which hampered him all year.
Steele ranks Lawson as the third best defensive end prospect in the country, and he is one of three Auburn football players – along with Carlson and offensive lineman Braden Smith – to make Steele’s First Team All-SEC list.
More from Fly War Eagle
- Ex-star Auburn DL confronts ‘slant man’ in MNF post-game video
- Ex-Auburn star laments not getting to face fellow Heisman candidate
- Analyst expects third-year RB to take AU rushing lead from surprising transfer
- Hugh Freeze was the right hire to truly embrace Auburn
- Auburn football Jack LB: ‘We’ve got to earn our respect back’
Lawson isn’t alone on that defensive line, they also return senior defensive tackle Montravius Adams. He was one of Auburn’s most productive defensive lineman from a year ago – which unfortunately isn’t saying much – with 44 tackles, 3 for a loss and 2.5 sacks. At 6-foot-4, 309 pounds he is a big run-stopper in the middle of the line. Steele has him listed as the sixth best defensive tackle prospect in the country.
He has sophomore Dontavius Russell starting at the other defensive tackle position. Last year for Auburn football he registered 42 tackles, 4.5 for a loss and 1.5 sacks. He’s another big boy at 6-foot-3, 308 pounds.
The other defensive end position could get interesting. Most places have sophomore Byron Cowart getting the nod, but Steele has freshman Marlon Davidson making the start. The fact that Cowart has had some off the field troubles this offseason makes it even more likely that the 4-star recruit Davidson gets the chance to start.
Davidson was ranked as the fourth best defensive end recruit in the country by 247Sports last year when he joined the Auburn football recruiting class. He enrolled early and participated in spring practices where he overtook Cowart for the starting job and had four tackles during the spring game.
Hopefully Davidson has the same impact for Auburn football that Lawson did when he was a freshman. If that’s the case then Auburn certainly will have one of the best defensive lines in the country.
Position-by-Position Preview of Auburn’s 2016 Roster
A couple of other names to watch are Derrick Brown and Paul James III.
Brown was a five-start recruit and the best player in the 2016 Auburn football recruiting class. He is on campus and should get plenty of playing time in 2016. As he develops and adapts to the college game throughout the fall we could see him having a major impact on that defensive line.
James is a junior college transfer, so he should be able to step in immediately to provide some depth at the defensive end position. He recorded 14 sacks and 22 tackles for a loss at Copiah-Lincoln last year. At 6-foot-4, 271 pounds there are thoughts that he could move to linebacker, which is a weakness for Auburn football in 2016, but either way he should have a major impact for the defense this fall.
Auburn football is legitimately four deep at the defensive end position and three deep at the defensive tackle position, which is why Steele thinks so highly of this unit entering 2016.
I have said multiple times that I think the defensive line will be the main reason for a turnaround for Auburn football in 2016. The coaches did a great job of bringing in three very talented recruits in the 2016 class that should provide immediate depth.
Next: Auburn Football: Phil Steele Projects Auburn to Finish 4th in SEC West
After finishing with just 19 sacks as a defense a year ago, I look for this defensive line to help Auburn football break the 30 sack mark in 2016. I can’t wait to watch this unit on the field.
War Eagle!