Auburn football: Tigers can’t afford to look past Southern Miss

Jack Abraham #15 of the Southern Miss Golden (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
Jack Abraham #15 of the Southern Miss Golden (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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Tim Jones #5 of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles is tackled short of the goal line by Kenneth Orji #10 of the Rice Owls (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Tim Jones #5 of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles is tackled short of the goal line by Kenneth Orji #10 of the Rice Owls (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

The Golden Eagles wouldn’t have had one of the conference’s best passing attacks if they didn’t have some real talent catching the ball. Unfortunately for Southern Miss, star wideout left after his redshirt junior season.

The First-Team All-Conference selection was selected in the sixth round of the recent NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and now the Golden Eagles need to replace 1,178 yards and six touchdowns worth of production.

On the bright side, Watkins wasn’t the only star receiver on the roster last season and rising senior Tim Jones should be ready to be the No. 1 guy. The 6-foot-1 wideout led the team last year with 73 catches which translated to 902 yards and three touchdowns. Jones was a Second-Team All-Conference selection last season should be one of the conference’s best receivers next year.

Alongside Jones, slot receiver Jaylond Adams is a speedy option who recorded 48 catches for 483 yards and two TDs last season.

The team didn’t get much production out of the tight end spot as RS sophomore Ray Ladner only caught four balls for 38 yards and two touchdowns. The team does add Arkansas transfer Grayson Gunter but neither should be much of a factor next season.