Around these parts, you’ll often read about all of the things about Auburn football that we can’t wait to see return to pre-pandemic normalcy during the upcoming 2021 season. Obviously, more communal activities like Tiger Walks, mass tree-rolling, and packed post-game celebrations all over downtown Auburn’s Saturday night scene come to mind first.
But not for nothing, the return to All-SEC recognition is one that we’d like to see return as well. Prior to the 2020 season, six Tigers were selected for the Coaches All-SEC teams. Bo Nix was even among the names on that list.
Then 2020 happened, and only two Tigers earned All-SEC honors. One of the aforementioned players (Big Kat Bryant) followed former Auburn football head coach Gus Malzahn to UCF, while the other was the kicker. No slight to Anders Carlson, owner of one of the best legs in the game, either, but kicker shouldn’t be one of the only positions to be recognized for.
Coming into 2021, expectations are tempered. There’s serious shock value to be had amongst the SEC voting committee for an Auburn squad that has plenty of talent but lacks the results to be considered a threat to streak to the top of the conference.
When it comes to receiving All-SEC honors when it is all said and done, these are the five names that come to mind for the 2021 Auburn football season:
Auburn football All-SEC candidate #1: Tank Bigsby, RB
When a player is being talked about in the same sentence as the Heisman trophy–especially when said player is only a sophomore–you need to expect that man to be a contender for being named a top player at the position in the conference.
Tank Bigsby is expected to dominate on a national scale in 2021 after averaging six yards per carry as a freshman last season. With non-conference early season tune-ups back on the schedule and a Week 3 showcase game against one of the Big Ten’s most notable programs (Penn State), Bigsby has the chance to build up considerable Heisman hype before running over the notoriously punishing defenses of the SEC.