Since the beginning of preseason camp for the Auburn Tigers and Head Coach Alex Golesh have been experiencing a lot of development with young guys all over the field, specifically on the offensive side of the football.
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One area of focus for Golesh during practices has been with the wide receiver room, where he has spent time putting some hard coaching on his pass catchers to focus on their technique and squeezing the ball on a reception.
The room has produced up-and-down days through the first nine days of camp, a statement that holds true for everyone across the room.
On Friday, everybody with the Tigers got to put their work to the test as the team put on a scrimmage inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, but it was one where Golesh walked away from not feeling satisfied and telling the team to “humble the heck out of yourselves.”
The head coach got an opportunity to provide an update in a lot of areas though, one of those being the young receivers that are playing behind the more experienced batch. The overall consensus there—they need to continue to push themselves.
Sophomore Sam Turner is one guy that Golesh pointed out as still learning how to play after missing a lot of time in the spring. His performance has been one that has shown minor flashes of potential, but also a lot of indications that development is needed in a big way.
“He’s a smart kid, but it’s still like every day you see something happen where you’re like, okay, Sam’s got a shot to help us,” Golesh said. “Then you see something happen where you’re like man, he’s got a long way to go simply just operating in the system. He’s a tough kid. He’s smart. He’ll be fine. I’m curious to see how long it takes him to get there.”
Saraland product DeShawn Spencer has been a hot topic as a true freshman, being highly touted by many for his athleticism and willingness to simply go to work each day.
Golesh said that Spencer had a positive first seven days of his camp, but in the last three days has also had his freshman moments that indicate he needs more experience in the system.
Nonetheless, he is moving upward in terms of his progression.
“He continues to take steps,” Golesh said. “He’s a hard tackle. You saw it in the spring game, we saw it today, he’s a hard tackle. He got maybe three opportunities with the ball in his hand today and did a good job. We’re going to continue to push him.”
Sophomore USF transfer Christian Neptune has spent the duration of camp in an orange non-contact uniform, but continues to be a full participant in drills.
Despite that, Golesh said that they held Neptune out of action on Friday, allowing him some extra recovery time.
“He’s just simply still coming back,” Golesh said. “He’s practiced every day. He’ll get some contact in the next scrimmage. We’re just trying to make sure we’re smart with how we’re bringing him back.”
Golesh also stated that true freshman Brian Williams Jr. out of Orlando, Florida had his best day of work on Thursday during red zone practice and put on some moments in the scrimmage, but also had a penalty from not being on the line of scrimmage that indicated some need for additional development in the offensive system.
Overall, the head coach believes this group of receivers has the potential to be viable options behind the primary first rotation.
However, it will take a big progression before they can consistently be on the field, as they still have a lot of learning to do.
“They need to take a giant step this next week as we continue to go good on good, that they get those reps,” Golesh said. “For us, week one is not going to be a great week to grow up. They’re going to have to grow up here in the next week before we trust them to go in the game.”
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
