There are few people in college football who have had worse luck than what Auburn senior safety Champ Anthony has experienced the last two seasons.
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Just minutes after laying down a violent hit in 2024 against Arkansas, Anthony broke his leg, sidelining him for the rest of the year. Stepping out for his much-anticipated return at the beginning of the 2025 campaign, Anthony then broke his thumb before suffering another leg injury later in the year.
Now as a senior, the star in the secondary is going all out in preseason camp in this new era with Alex Golesh, and co-Defensive Coordinator and safeties coach Tim Banks recognizes that in full.
“It’s been awesome,” Banks said. “He’s a true leader, he’s a passionate kid, football is extremely important to him, the brotherhood is important to him. He’s not a guy that just talks about it; he’s a guy that lives it. That’s refreshing. You’ve got a lot of people who talk a lot and don’t really have any substance about it. He’s not that type of guy. When he says it, he means it, he stands on it.”
Being fully healthy at this point in time, Anthony has been a full participant in all drills up to this point.
During the first week of fall camp, the primary safety was seen working with the cornerbacks, showcasing his versatility to be able to move around and cover all parts of the secondary.
“Champ’s a kid that, I talked about the safety spot, he could easily slide out at corner and bring us some versatility there as well,” Banks said. “To finally see him healthy, hitting on all cylinders, it’s been awesome to see.”
Anthony was one the Tigers’ three player representatives at SEC Media Days in Tampa, Florida alongside Byrum Brown and Alex McPherson. By the end of the festivities, he received Third Team Preseason All-SEC honors.
The senior is now going into this season determined, and when asked about what he is hoping to get out of this fall camp and the beginning of his official return, he did not hesitate in answering.
“You red line every day, you push that limit farther and farther and farther,” Anthony said. “Me personally, I don’t want to come out the game. I don’t want to be tired, I don’t want to be nothing. Just red lining every day and just having my guys around me red line too. If we do that, 11 guys to the ball, it’s a scary defense.”
Now welcoming in a guy like Banks to be his position coach and playing alongside a lot of the same teammates as the 2025 season, Anthony is confident in where the room can go.
In fact, to him, Banks does more than a typical safeties coach would, which benefits the room in the long run as the season nears.
“You get a guy who’s a DC and he has a lot of safeties in the league,” Anthony said. “He understands how to view the game from a different standpoint than just like a regular safeties coach. We talk about what he thinks Coach Durkin is going to call, when he’s going to call it. It’s like he’s kind of turning us into coaches on the field so we understand, we have a feel for what he’s going to call.”
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
