It’s fair to say Auburn football CB Jaylin Simpson is confident in the pass coverage he and Nehemiah Pritchett could provide this upcoming 2022 season.
The Class of 2019 Frederica Academy product believes the Tigers will have the best CBs in the SEC the 2022 campaign.
It’s a statement that portrays confidence in a secondary group that is sending alumni to the NFL at the end of the month. Roger McCreary is projected to be as high as a first-rounder in some mock drafts, with others slotting him comfortably in the second round.
“I think we will be best duo of cornerbacks in the SEC this year,” Simpson said with an undeniable optimism the Plains produces every offseason, for better or for worse.
In addition to Simpson’s endorsement of the 2022 Auburn football CB room, Secondary Coach/Associate Head Coach Zac Etheridge believes Pritchett and Simpson will follow in the footsteps of McCreary and respect the process:
"“Those guys’ potential is extremely high. They both know exactly what it looks like, and what we got from Roger, so they know the expectation of being that type of player to get from where they are at now to where they want to go. My expectation is for those two guys is to go out and just to do your job every play, and let the game come to you, and just understand that we are not just cover guys,” the coach said. “In this conference, you have got to be willing to tackle.”"
The Auburn football CB room has stiff competition from the usual competition.
Alabama has Kool-Aid McKinstry and Eli Ricks. Texas A&M’s secondary features Jaylon Jones and Tyreek Chappell.
Backing up those claims will be quite a challenge for Simpson and Pritchett, but the Tigers have sent McCreary, Noah Igbinoghene, Jamel Dean, and Carlton Davis to the pros in recent years, and have perhaps the strongest coach on staff in Etheridge coaching them.