AL.com’s Ainslie Lee believes a star Deion Sanders wideout recruit from his days at Jackson State, Shane Hooks, is chief among a group of wideouts that can turn out to be the leading skill player for the Auburn football offense in 2023 — mainly due to the running back room being a platoon instead of a one-man-show.
“Auburn’s rushing attack will likely be the Tigers’ bread and butter, but it’ll likely be a ‘by committee’ approach, meaning an individual ball carrier probably won’t be the heads and shoulder leader in the backfield,” Lee prefaced before saying, “That paves the way for Auburn’s leading skill player to come from the receiving corps, which is just as deep.
“Jackson State transfer Shane Hooks has turned heads a lot heading into the season with hands that are big and consistent. Hooks might highlight Auburn’s receivers, but slot guys Ja’Varrius Johnson and Jay Fair are two others to keep an eye on.”
Shane Hooks is in the best situation in his career with Auburn football
Hooks chose Ohio over UAB and Central Arkansas during his initial high school recruitment, and in hindsight, he likely regrets that choice. The Orlando native redshirted his first and third seasons in Athens, Ohio before breaking out under Coach Prime at Jackson while catching passes from Sanders’ son Shedeur.
Even though his QB was a stud and his coach was among the greatest athletes to ever grace this earth, Hooks has never been in as good of a situation as he is now with Hugh Freeze’s 2023 Auburn football program.
Expectations are tempered for most of the fanbase, but with new energy surrounding the program, a large portion of Tiger fans are holding out hope for a 2013-type season from a first-year head coach.
That pressure doesn’t exist for the players, though– well besides Payton Thorne to a degree — and the opportunity to be a hero any week of the season goes a long way for Auburn fans always ready to exalt an on-field difference-maker.
Hooks is soon going to realize why the Loveliest Village on the Plains is a one-in-a-million landing spot for any college athlete.