While certain aspects of the Auburn football program will look familiar in 2022 due to key upperclassmen returns–think in the trenches with both the offensive and defensive lines as well as the LB group–the receiving core will most certainly look different this spring and in the fall.
The Tigers’ top receivers from a season ago have departed via various means. Demetris Robertson is possibly NFL-bound, Kobe Hudson has reunited with Gus Malzahn in Orlando with UCF, Elijah Canion went B1G and joined Purdue, and Caylin Newton went to the FCS.
Freshmen pass-catcher Jay Fair is already on campus for spring practice, and he’ll be joined by two others this summer.
According to AL.com’s Tom Green, though, the pair could be joined by a transfer portal addition after A-Day, which will have to adjust to the personnel on hand:
"The group is still relatively short on depth this spring, and that much has been apparent during practice viewing periods this week. More help is on the way in the offseason, with 2022 signees Omari Kelly and Camden Brown set to join the fold—plus the potential for a post-spring transfer addition—but in the meantime, Auburn will be working with a lot of two- and three-receiver sets (and fewer four- or five-wide sets) this spring out of necessity."
Auburn football needs an extra WR and OL through the transfer portal
AL.com made a similar claim of the Tigers looking to take to the transfer portal for OL depth recently, so it is not shocking to see the WR room linked to the portal as well.
Former NFL star and recently hired WR coach Ike Hilliard could be a major swaying factor for kids currently in school, even if they were probably too young to catch his glory days on the NY Giants in the late 1990’s/early 2000’s.
Hopefully a star could arise from either the portal or the incoming freshman class, because otherwise Shedrick Jackson and Ja’Varrius Johnson will have a tough time carrying this inexperienced receiving core.