2022 Auburn football DL will be strongest in years with Derick Hall returning

Auburn football has been future-focused since losing Bo Nix to season-ending ankle surgery, collecting wins all over the recruiting trail in November and December 2021.

The Iron Bowl was a recruiting tool, and in shutting the Tide off the scoring column until the fourth quarter, it did the job.

Jeffrey M’Ba, Keionte Scott, Austin Ausberry, JaDarian Rhym, Marquise Gilbert, and Enyce Sledge all chose the Plains as their next home after an unmatched atmosphere at Jordan-Hare Stadium against Alabama. LB Robert Woodyard was even committed to the Tide before the Iron Bowl but was flipped by Auburn’s performance.

With so many highly-rated recruits coming, the Tigers were already set to take a step forward defensively in 2022.

But the past two days have provided serious reinforcements from highly-decorated upperclassmen choosing to forego the NFL Draft and return to the Auburn football program for one last ride.

Colby Wooden’s return was one highly celebrated by Tiger fans when the DE announced his return. Derick Hall’s own decision to come back is one that elevates the defense to elite in 2022.

The 2022 Auburn football DL will be the Tigers’ best in years

2021 was a work in progress for first-year Auburn DC Derek Mason. He was able to feast on far inferior competition, but 25.5 points per game in SEC play isn’t going to cut it for a team with ambitions of winning the conference. And make no mistake about it, the Tigers had the chance to do so after knocking off LSU, Arkansas, and Ole Miss in October. It was the unfathomable 0-4 finish that wiped away those pipe dreams.

But enough about the past. The worst of the Bryan Harsin era is behind us.

In 2022, with all of these wins in the recruiting trail, through the transfer portal with incoming DT Jayson Jones, and with Harsin’s vision being enough to bring back two of the team’s most impactful players on the defensive front, this could be the best Auburn football DL in years.