Auburn made an interesting mid-fall camp move on Monday, adding Troy transfer Tray Taylor to the WR room. That move makes all the sense in the world after The Auburn Observer's Justin Ferugson's camp update on Tuesday.
Ferguson revealed that Bryce Cain is now taking snaps in the secondary, opening up a spot on the depth chart at the slot.
"Just got about 20 minutes of a viewing window for the 12th practice of Auburn football camp," Ferguson prefaced before saying, "Observations will come this afternoon following interviews, but I will go ahead and say that we saw Bryce Cain is now working with the cornerbacks instead of the receivers."
Kodi Burns had previously explained that when it came to Cain getting onto the field, it'd just take more practice reps. Evidently, it doesn't look like Cain will be lining up in the slot or anywhere on the offense, for that matter.
Defensively? That's another matter. To switch Cain to the corner spot means athleticism isn't the problem, but route-running and/or hands might be. DJ Durkin and DeMarcus Van Dyke clearly saw enough that they liked to throw him into the fire. Corner is a position that can be figured out quickly with enough athleticism. Cain has that in spades.
Alex Golesh bringing over so many WRs who know the system is critical
Now you see the genius of Golesh's portal strategy for his and Joel Gordon's offense. In bringing over Chas Nimrod, Keshaun Singleton, Jeremiah Koger, Christian Neptune, Kory Pettigrew, and even tight end Jonathan Echols, there is strong familiarity with the pace at which Byrum Brown conducts the offense.
It's clear Cain had his issues getting with the program. Cain had two years wasted after Hugh Freeze recruited him and his other "Freeze Four" teammates, Cam Coleman, Perry Thompson, and Malcolm Simmons, just to give them two run-heavy starting QB options who had problems getting the ball downfield. He was already working from behind.
Golesh, Durkin, and Co. figuring out a role for him is a good way not to waste any more of his time, especially since they had a ready-made replacement in the slot.
Tray Taylor has catching up to do in Auburn's offense, but he will
Of course, Taylor has limited time to get up to speed with the fast-paced Tigers' offense himself. He joined the program just a few weeks out from a major non-conference Week 1 clash with Baylor. There's no reason to doubt Taylor, though. His journey from limited opportunities in Shreveport, Louisiana, to the JUCO ranks, to Coastal Carolina, to Troy, now to Auburn proves he has outworked every disadvantage.
The Tigers' coaching staff has some work to do. Taylor will do all the work on his end to make the arrangement work. It's always a gamble to throw someone into the mix this late in the game, but Taylor is worth the gamble.
We'll see how it all plays out. Clearly, though, there's a plan for Cain to find the field one way or another, and that only stood to benefit Taylor in the end.
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