Auburn football: 5 most underrated players of the Gus Malzahn era

Underrated Auburn football players: Cassanova McKinzy

Cassanova McKinzy famously chose to commit to Auburn over Clemson in 2012 due to the fact that Auburn had a Chick-Fil-A on campus while Clemson didn’t. That aside, the Tigers got a three-year starter at linebacker that had an incredibly productive career on The Plains.

McKinzy became the starter during Auburn’s miracle 2013 season where he recorded 70 tackles, seven tackles for a loss and two sacks. However, it was the next two seasons where the 6-foot-3, 253-pound linebacker truly broke out.

In his junior and senior seasons combined, McKinzy totaled 165 tackles, 21 tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks.

McKinzy’s ability to rush the passer and get into the backfield was essential in the first few years of Malzahn’s tenure. However, despite three productive years, McKinzy was never named to an All-SEC team which in many ways, further drives the underrated narrative.

While McKinzy’s prime years were Auburn certainly weren’t the most successful in program history, his individual production is often wrongfully overlooked.