New Auburn football tight ends coach believes 2022 4-star TE can be special

Newly-implemented Auburn football tight ends coach Ben Aigamaua, who Hugh Freeze had on both his Ole Miss coaching staff and his Liberty staff, believes Class of 2022 tight end redshirt freshman Micah Riley-Ducker could be special on the Tigers — saying as much ahead of the team’s fourth spring football practice.

“Micah is the one that, if we can get this thing right, he’s going to be special,” Aigamaua said of the six-foot-six, 235-pound Bellevue West product. Riley-Ducker didn’t get any snaps during the 2022 season (h/t AL.com).

Aigamaua would go on to laud each member of the room for the different skill sets each brings to a room that has risen in notoriety in the past two years under the leadership of John Samuel Shenker. Shenker moved on from the Auburn football program following the 2022 season, which was his fifth on the Plains.

Auburn football tight ends coach Ben Aigamaua excited about TE room

Aigamaua fully endorsed the tight end room and relayed that the team has progressed well in new Tigers offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery’s schemes thus far in spring practice.

“So far, with the four practices we’ve had, we’re operating at a high level,” Aigamaua said. “We’ve got to clean up some technical stuff, technique, and things of that nature, but I’m excited about our room right now.”

In particular, the addition of Rivaldo Fairweather excites Aigamaua, who believes the Florida International transfer’s presence raises the expectations of a room that was merely a glorified extension of the offensive line as recently as the 2020 season under Gus Malzahn.

“I’m excited about our room, especially adding Rivaldo (Fairweather) and the guys that we’ve got,” Aigamaua told reporters on March 15. “Adding Rivaldo to that room kind of — the expectations have risen from the passing game to the run game; we’re very involved in what we do offensively.”