AUC Staff Q&A: Which Florida player besides Jadan Baugh must Auburn stop?

After a dominant win in their home opener last Saturday, the Auburn Tigers are now set to take on their first game in their SEC slate, welcoming the Florida Gators to the Plains for the first time since 2011.

With a 43-8 victory against Southern Miss under their belt, the Tigers now have a number of challenges set ahead of them in order to come out on top and improve to 1-0 in conference play.

Heading into Saturday’s action, the Auburn Undercover staff was given a question to answer, one regarding who outside of Jadan Baugh Auburn needs to stop to give it the best chance of winning.

Question: Auburn will have to limit running back Jadan Baugh against Florida. Who is one other player from the Gators that has to be limited in order for the Tigers to have success on Saturday night?

Tyler Raley: With all of the weapons that Florida has on the field, it is hard to pinpoint just one other athlete that Auburn needs to limit. When it comes down to it though, Vernell Brown III is that guy. Brown is an explosive receiver that with his elusiveness reminds me of a bigger Jaylen Waddle. The receiver had two punt returns for a touchdown against Campbell to go with three receptions for 43 yards and another touchdown on the night. If Baugh gets going and then the Gators offense chooses to utilize Brown effectively, things have a chance to go downhill quickly for a Tigers defense that had problems against the Baylor air attack in the season opener.

Ryan Bartow: Auburn will need to limit the touches for Vernell Brown III both in space and in the return game. How do they do that? The Tigers have to have extended depth. Leverage is of the utmost importance to negate explosives in both realms, and if they can do that by funneling him inside, space will come at a premium. If not, Brown will be a problem and it will be a long night for Auburn.

Jay Douglas: I think Auburn will need to stop Aaron Philo. If the Tigers are able to limit the success of Jadan Baugh, what's the next important position? The quarterback. Alex Golesh had good things to say about Philo Wednesday in that he is experienced, he can throw and runand that it's up to the defense to make him uncomfortable. The corners are going to be tested this week. They struggled against Baylor, so it will be interesting to see what adjustments they've made going against a Power Four opponent. If Auburn's secondary struggles, Philo could carve the Tigers up. However, it will be interesting to see how much pressure DJ Durkin's defense puts on Philo to do what Golesh said in making him uncomfortable.

Caleb Jones: Vernell Brown III is an absolute weapon on special teams for Florida. He had two punt returns for touchdowns on back-to-back punts last week against Campbell, so the Tigers must limit his success in the return game. In this SEC opener, field position will be crucial.

Ronnie Sanders: Vernell Brown III is the other Florida player Auburn has to limit. The sophomore receiver enters Saturday as the Gators’ leading receiver with 160 yards through two games and gives quarterback Aaron Philo a dangerous option on the perimeter. Auburn’s first priority will be keeping Jadan Baugh from controlling the game on the ground, but the Tigers can’t become so committed to stopping the run that Brown gets favorable matchups downfield. If Auburn can contain Baugh and prevent Brown from producing explosive plays, it will force Florida to find another way to consistently move the football.

Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.