The Auburn Tigers got back in the win column on Saturday after defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 24-10 on the road in Lexington. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak and earned the team their first SEC win of the year.
There were many factors that contributed to the Tigers winning ways, many of which were as a result of what the defense did after being down 10 points early on. Even with that deficit, the defense only allowed 224 total yards on the night.
Some might ask how the defense turned it around. The answer: the play of freshman cornerback [autotag]Jay Crawford[/autotag].
After Auburn cut the lead to three points with a touchdown in the early stages of the second quarter, the Wildcats were seen driving down the field. That was until on a third down, Crawford made an interception on an underthrown ball near the Tigers sideline, which ultimately led to the game-tying field on the ensuing possession.
Over the course of the game, Crawford only allowed a 33% completion rate on six targets towards his assignments, making big plays in the defensive stand and earning him the 247Sports True Freshman of the Week.
Head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] discussed how Crawford has really impressed him over the course of a struggling year, making a statement in his quick development.
“He’s got talent for sure, we knew that. But it’s a maturing process of learning how to practice, how to focus on techniques that you need with every given call. We’re still not perfect at that by any means, playing so many young kids, and even our older kids. But he’s getting better and better each week with ‘All right, I’ve got to play outside tip right here, or I’ve got to play inside tip here, or I need to play off here, or I need to play press bail here.’ All of that stuff is moving really, really fast for a freshman with the hundreds of different calls you make. And not to mention the number of calls, but the call is based on what do they come out in? We’ve got to change that, they’re in a tight formation, that totally changes the call. There’s a lot of moving parts for those young kids. He’s getting more used to the game, more used to the system. You combine that with his talent, and he’s getting better.”
Crawford has become a consistent starter as of lately for Auburn, having started in four consecutive weeks for [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag] and his defense. He currently has 12 total tackles to go along with the one interception and four pass breakups in his first season on the Plains.
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