The 2023 edition of the Auburn Tigers will look vastly different.
Auburn’s offense will see notable changes at offensive line and wide receiver. The latter position group was discussed on a recent episode of The On3 Roundtable.
Host J.D. PicKell welcomed Auburn Live’s Justin Hokanson to chat about the Tigers last week. Auburn will have several new faces lining up to catch passes from either [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] or [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] this season thanks to the transfer portal. Players such as [autotag]Jyaire Shorter[/autotag], [autotag]Shane Hooks[/autotag], and [autotag]Nick Mardner[/autotag] will be tall targets for Auburn’s quarterbacks, but the one transfer receiver that Hokanson is most looking forward to watching is FIU transfer [autotag]Rivaldo Fairweather[/autotag].
Fairweather comes to Auburn after reeling in 28 catches for 426 yards and three touchdowns last season at FIU and is poised to help out the Tigers at tight end.
He’s only played football for four or five years of his life, but played basketball, played soccer in high school, super athletic and super raw,” Hokanson said. “That kid’s got NFL potential written all over him. He’s going to be really interesting to see. Is he involved in just the red zone or is he involved all the way up and down the field? He’s a guy that’s going to be a big target.”
Outside of the new transfers, Auburn’s leading receiver from a season ago returns to the roster.
[autotag]Ja’Varrius Johnson[/autotag] caught 26 passes for 493 yards last season for the Tigers. Hokanson believes that Auburn’s fresh receivers will provide relief to Johnson.
“I think there’s a lot to be determined. I don’t know that there will be a premier pass catcher,” Hokanson said. “I feel like you’ve got some guys that can maybe turn into reliable guys across the board but I would probably start with those four.”
According to Pro Football Focus, three of Auburn’s top offensive players reside in the receiving corps.
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