Throughout the season, the secondary for the Auburn Tigers has been one that has received a lot of criticism on a number of occasions, whether it has been for performance, lack of depth or other reasons.
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However, there have been a couple of players that have stepped up in a few scenarios, one of those being sophomore safety AnQuon Fegans.
The native of Alabaster has been a key component on the field in the 2026 season, getting a big role on defense. Since receiving that role, he has risen to the standard, especially in the last few games.
Fegans got his paws on the ball and reeled in an interception in the Tigers’ win against Arkansas on Saturday, his third in the last four games.
Even with the interception, Head Coach Alex Golesh said it was more than that play that has been an example of his improvement as of late.
“Newboy's continue to work to get better, continued to be a big part of what we do,” Golesh said. “He's grown a ton from game one to game nine. I thought more than even the interception, I thought his ability to run alleys and get people on the ground, and that's what we ask that guy to do a bunch that middle of the field player. I've been more proud of that, the willingness to get better there, the ability to put his hat on people.”
The staff has also been impressed with the sophomore’s tackling ability, as he sits at 15 tackles to go along with the interceptions.
While there is still some work to do for Fegans to match last season’s tackle numbers, his form has been much improved. Defensive Coordinator DJ Durkin complimented that on Monday, touting his work towards making things happen.
“I'm really excited about how he's been tackling,” Durkin said. “You watch that game, he had some really physical tackles, coming up and fitting it. That's something he's really worked hard at.”
The challenge for him though has been to stay consistently healthy, as while he has not missed any games, he has been dinged up here and there. He was limited some in preseason camp, as well as in recent games.
However, when Fegans has been at or near 100%, the display has been impressive and shown signs of his future role in the program.
“When he's been in, he's been great for us,” Durkin said. “He's working really hard at that. I think he's really matured and grown up for how his process goes throughout the week, preparing each day in practice. He's a guy who does a great job of that for us. We view him as a great player and a guy we're certainly building around here.”
Fegans also provides another source of depth, which has been important as the season has rolled on and on.
While Auburn is getting a little bit back this week for the Mississippi State game, there are still concerns with the health of some defensive players. That is why Fegans’ role has been important, and why his play now is paving the way for what his future will be.
“He continues to improve, continues to get better and we're counting on him to do so,” Golesh said. “It's allowed us to create more depth back there. It's allowed us to rotate a little bit more, certainly with Eric and Kaleb and Sly. Getting Sly back this week will help in a big way this week with the ability to rotate a little bit more back there. But Newboy's ceiling is really, really high. We're continuing to push him to get there and he's continuing to get better.”
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
