Auburn football: Elite freshmen create stacked group of Auburn receivers

Multiple positions on the Auburn football team will be injected with a talent burst this season because of the 2018 recruiting class.

None more than wide receiver.

Auburn signed four receivers in the 2018 class and it’s very possible that all four of them will see playing time early this season.

There are two reasons for the optimistic outlook on playing time.

• Eli Stove and Will Hastings both tore ACLs and are recovering. The timetable for their return is not known, but both are said to be progressing well and could be ready for the field by midseason if the coaches choose to play them in 2018.
• As obvious as the first reason is for the optimism, reason No. 2 might be more obvious: All four are crazy talented.

Consider what the Auburn football team is returning to the field when the season begins Sept. 1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta against Washington:

• Ryan Davis, junior: Last season he caught a program-record 84 passes for 815 yards and five touchdowns.
• Darius Slayton, junior: Caught 29 passes for 643 yards (22.2 yards per reception) and five touchdowns.
• Nate Craig-Myers, junior: The big target caught 16 passes for 285 yards and three scores, showing the potential late in the season that he arrived on campus with as an elite recruit.
• Stove (29) and Hastings (26) combined for 55 receptions (although most of Stove’s came in the form of forward tosses in the speed sweep) for 265 and 525 yards, respectively with Hastings adding four touchdowns.
• Junior Sal Cannella (6-5, 232) and sophomore Marquis McClain (6-2, 217) are a pair of wild-card, big-body receivers who could play larger roles in the offense.

Then there are the four freshmen: Shedrick Jackson, Anthony Schwartz, Seth Williams and Matthew Hill. Receivers coach Kodi Burns had this to say about the group:

"These four guys, as far as just pure receivers, I’m excited to see what they can do. I think the sky is the limit with the talent. The ability is out the roof. These guys are natural. Great ball skills, can really run routes, and they’ve got some toughness about them already. So just to watch these guys grow over the years is going to be something special."

Each freshman receiver arrived on campus with an elite set of skills.

Jackson, the nephew of Bo Jackson, is a strong receiver (6-0, 204) who played for one of the nation’s top high school programs at Hoover. He arrived in January and competed during spring practice.

Schwartz is a world-class speedster. That’s not embellishing. He won two 5A state titles at powerhouse American Heritage in Florida and won state titles in the 100 meters (10.07 seconds) and 200 meters (20.41).

Hill is an all-around athlete who had Auburn at the top of his list for years. He’s shown an explosive, playmaking ability in fall camp. He has good size, too, at 6-1, 185.

Williams is listed at 6-3, 210, the biggest of the new Auburn receivers. He also excelled in basketball and won medals at the state in the long jump and high jump.

And while those four are getting the attention this fall, another player has caught the attention of coaches. Kolbi Fuqua was one of the last confirmed players in the 2018 signing class and arrived on campus as a defensive back/receiver. He’s settled in with the receivers and at 6-2, 210, he provides another big, athletic body for Auburn quarterbacks.

Burns and the Auburn coaching staff have done a fantastic job recruiting the receiver position. The 2018 lineup of receivers is the best Gus Malzahn has had since becoming head coach in 2013. With the depth, that should be the case every season from here out for some time.