It feels like every year that a freshman wide receiver makes his way into the SEC and stands out, turning heads across the conference and nation. On just the second day of preseason camp at Auburn, there is already a narrative that DeShawn Spencer has the potential to become one of those guys.
Coming in from Saraland High School having played for football coach Jeff Kelly and with current Alabama wideout Ryan Coleman-Williams, Spencer has been one of the talks of the town in the wide receiver room that is creating an impression, even with it being his first year on the team.
Spencer caught 94 passes for 1,709 yards and 21 touchdowns during his senior season at Saraland, being a big factor in the Spartans’ ride to be the Class 6A runner-up in 2025.
After enrolling early with the Tigers, the freshman joined a group of receivers that had played for and were familiar with the system that Coach Alex Golesh likes to run. While they are experienced in that regard, it is still a corps that is young.
“In some ways, I feel like it’s a really young group,” Golesh said. “You get past Keshaun (Singleton) and Chas (Nimrod), it’s a young group. It’s an energetic, talented group, but it’s young.”
Even among the youth in that group though, Spencer has brought traits to the table that make him seem older than a freshman.
Golesh attributes a lot of that to the coaching he received at the high school level, which has now caused him to play harder as a collegiate athlete.
“He’s mature beyond his years in the sense of football intelligence,” Golesh said. “He comes from a really good program, he’s been coached really hard, all he’s done is win and then it translates really, really quickly.”
Spencer has made a big enough statement to get the attention of quarterback Byrum Brown as well, who has been impressed by what the freshman is providing in the early days of preseason camp.
Brown admires his mentality to get the job done on a daily basis and be aggressive, making him happy to have Spencer on his team.
“He practices like a vet,” Brown said. “He comes to work each and every single day, always looking to get better. I couldn’t be more happy to have him on my team making plays, making catches as a young buck. I’m super happy to see that.”
Golesh also has to remind himself sometimes that Spencer only just turned 18 years old, and that despite his small frame, he has the upside to make an impact from the moment Auburn takes the field for the first game against Baylor.
“He’s come in, he’s worked incredibly hard,” Golesh said. “He’s got stuff you can’t really teach, like he’s got really good spatial awareness, he’s got a knack to go get the football and for not being a big kid yet, he’s got a frame where he’ll carry—just turned 18—he’s a kid that has got a really, really bright future.”
As fall camp continues on and the team continues to get closer together, it is being noticed that Spencer will keep pushing himself to be the best receiver he can be.
Getting to take reps with the current top receivers in the room, he is putting together a statement about why should be a starter, and one day, a star.
He also spends as much as anybody in here so that he’s prepared,” Golesh said. “He’s earned the reps he’s getting and he’s rolling with the first two groups and honestly not just fits in, but stands out at times.”
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
