This offseason, which began in earnest after a narrow loss to Houston in the Birmingham Bowl on December 28th, has had its fair share of ups and downs for the Auburn football program.
Bo Nix, Kobe Hudson, Shaun Shivers, Tashawn Manning, and Elijah Canion have all left the offense, while Ahmari Harvey, Caleb Johnson, and Dre Butler have departed the defense. The transfer portal took the eight away from the Plains.
On the flipside, though, Colby Wooden, Derick Hall, Owen Pappoe, and Tank Bigsby have all decided to run it back in 2022 after talk of some taking to the NFL and a certain former All-SEC Freshman hitting the transfer portal.
You could add one more key return: Shedrick Jackson.
The clear #2 receiver in 2021 announced on Instagram that he had unfinished business to take care of with the Tigers in 2022:
Senior WR Shedrick Jackson announces he is returning for a 5th season. Given where the WR room stands, this is huge. pic.twitter.com/RySNGIsxI5
— Christian Clemente (@CClemente247) January 5, 2022
Shedrick Jackon’s Auburn football return comes when it is needed most
With Kobe Hudson recently taking to the transfer portal, AU was already in a position of need at WR. Jackson’s return gives Bryan Harsin, Eric Kiesau and co. a minute to breathe before addressing what was a serious weak-spot for Auburn this past season.
If hell freezes over and Caleb Williams somehow chooses the Tigers as his next team, Oklahoma WR transfer Mario Williams and several other ring-chasers could solve that problem in one fell swoop.
Since that’s highly unlikely, this offseason will be one that requires a non-stop search of upgrades in the Auburn WR room. It’s good to know that whoever is under center next season will have a familiar and steady hand in Jackson lining up in the big slot position.