There’s some positive chatter about the Auburn football WR room starting to permeate ahead of A-Day.
Arguably the Tigers’ weakest position, the wideout group appears set to return the receiver with the fourth-most catches and yards, and third highest TD total.
Ja’Varrius Johnson’s name remains in the transfer portal, but there are some signs that he could withdraw and participate in spring ball.
AL.com’s Nubyjas Wilborn revealed some optimistic news about the Trussville wideout in his latest piece suggesting 5 position battles to watch when Auburn starts spring football:
"Ja’Varrius Johnson possibly could participate in spring football. He’s still taking classes at Auburn, but his name remains in the portal. Johnson potentially returning would be great for Harsin’s team. He had 19 receptions and caught two touchdowns last season."
AU has very little experience within the WR group at the moment, and would be in dire straits if Shedrick Jackson ever got injured. As Wilborn points out, Kobe Hudson, Demetris Robertson, Elijah Canion, and Caylin Newton are gone.
Returning Johnson to the fold would be a major boon for the room in spite of a lack of big-catch chemistry with current projected starter T.J. Finley. Johnson did catch eight of Finley’s tosses but only amassed 6.8 yards per catch. Perhaps Zach Calzada, Robby Ashford, or Dematrius Davis is the one under center instead this year anyway.
Regardless, experience at a position that is heavily leaning on inexperienced youth right now would be positive press for Auburn football in the wake of a February that sorely lacked it.
The more players that return, the more belief everyone will have in Bryan Harsin’s culture after the Auburn Board of Trustees unsuccessfully threw accusations at the wall en masse hoping they would stick and he could be fired with cause and lose his contractual buyout.
That’s the kind of momentum the team needs with the SEC West (+ Georgia) schedule being a habitually grueling gridiron gauntlet year in and year out.