Since the end of the 2021 season, Auburn football’s wide receivers have been considered a weak link in the makeup of the team. Receivers struggled to stay consistent or make explosive plays during head coach Bryan Harsin’s first year, and many of them parted ways with the team at the end of the season.
However, Harsin has made significant moves to improve the wide receivers room, starting at the top with the hiring of Ike Hilliard. A former SEC football player himself, Hilliard has a fantastic NFL resume and clearly has the potential to help these kids get to the next level.
He has been a major factor in the recruitment of both the 2022 and 2023 classes, putting the Tigers back in the race for and ultimately earning the commitment of Karmello English. Incoming freshmen Omari Kelly and Camden Brown also spoke highly of the position coach.
All these things point to a much stronger WR corps than Auburn football fans saw on the field last season. During SEC Media Days, Harsin said that Hilliard had an “immediate impact” on the program and praised his approach to working with his players, which include last year’s returners, a group of incoming freshmen, and transfers Dazalin Worsham (Miami) and Koy Moore (LSU).
"“The attitude of that room has brought out the best in some of those guys that we didn’t see before. I think Ike is a big reason for that,” Harsin said."
According to Koy Moore, Hilliard has jacked up the confidence level in the receivers and he believes the position group will surprise a lot of fans in the fall, per Auburn Live:
"“Coach Ike, he’s giving those guys that have been there a confidence booster,” Moore told Auburn Live earlier this month. “The coaches talk about us now. Before I was there, they said that wasn’t a group being talked about. Coach gave the confidence boost tot he guys that were there before. We’re going to be a strong room. I think the future is bright.”"
With lots of talent but little on-field experience in the wide receivers room, Auburn football’s wide receivers are locked in and ready to prove themselves in the upcoming season.