During his SEC West preview, ESPN’s Bill Connelly documented what Hugh Freeze has done to correct Auburn’s passing troubles.
“Auburn’s 2022 offense could only run, so Freeze brought in Michigan State quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] and five receiver transfers,” Connelly said.
Connelly is keeping an eye on one of Auburn’s five receiver transfers.
Included in his preview were his ten favorite players from the SEC West. He mentioned North Texas transfer Jyaire Shorter.
Shorter was a valuable asset to the North Texas offense for the last five seasons, with his best season coming in 2022. He reeled in 23 passes for 628 yards and a team-high 11 touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus, Shorter caught 41% of passes thrown his way with only five drops.
Connelly feels that Shorter will be a great deep-ball option for Auburn.
In the past 10 seasons, only two players have averaged at least 2.5 yards per route with a catch rate under 50% (and 50 minimum targets): Michigan State’s Jalen Nailor (2021) and Shorter at North Texas (2022). Doing so requires a lot of deep routes. Deep routes are fun.
Shorter joins a long list of exciting receiver transfers. Auburn also added [autotag]Shane Hooks[/autotag] from Jackson State, [autotag]Nick Marder[/autotag] from Cincinnati, [autotag]Caleb Burton[/autotag] from Ohio State, and [autotag]Rivaldo Fairweather[/autotag] from FIU.
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