This could be one of the deepest units on the team.
One of the bright spots of the offense last season was the emergence of Auburn’s tight ends.
It was something that Auburn fans have wanted for years and the group more than delivered. John Samuel Shenker broke the program records for catches and yards and was one of the offences most reliable players.
Meanwhile, Tyler Fromm and Luke Deal were used in variety of ways to help the offense and Landen King looked like a potential star to end the season.
With the uncertainty surrounding the quarterback and wide receiver positions, Auburn will need to lean on the tight ends even more than they did last season, but this group is up for the challenge. Here is a look at the group.
A talented tight end that also played H-back in high school, the three-star signee out of Beaumont, Texas will have plenty of chances to work his way up a crowded depth chart at his position. King brings a pedigree of being able to get open and, with good hands, be a reliable target for the quarterback. With the use of the tight end hopefully becoming a thing in Mike Bobo’s offense, he could be a major weapon in the near future.
In the last several years, Auburn has recruited a handful of high-rated tight ends. This year it looks like we’ll finally see them emerge as regular contributors on the Tigers’ offense.
It’s inexcusable that this position has been underutilized as of late, but Bryan Harsin realizes the advantages he has within this unit. From 2002-2005 he served at Boise State’s tight ends coach during which the Broncos’ scoring offense led the nation in scoring twice and never once fell out of the top 10. In his final year as tight ends coach, four Boise State tight ends finished the season with combined stats of 27 receptions, 298 yards, and three touchdowns.
Last season four Auburn tight ends finished the season with combined stats of 20 receptions, 178 yards, and 0 touchdowns.
In January Harsin announced the addition of former Boise State offensive line coach Brad Bedell to his Auburn staff to assume the role of tight ends coach. In Bedell’s four seasons at Boise State he saw nine offensive lineman receive 13 All-Mountain West honors. When Harsin named Bedell as tight ends coach he said,
“Tight end play is a critical part of our offensive attack and Coach Bedell brings a unique perspective to what we want to do with that position group. Brad has coached with me at a couple different places and is a relationship driven coach with six years of NFL playing experience, making him an exceptional recruiter. His versatility as a coach and strong recruiting ability make him a great fit for the Auburn football family.”
Bedell and Harsin will have no problem finding talent in this position. Outside of linebackers Auburn’s most talented group very would could be its tight ends. Here’s a look at Auburn’s tight end corps that is poised to make a statement this fall:
Grant Loy to John Samuel Shenker for the 2-point conversion. This was the first time Auburn ran the swinging gate 2-point conversion play since 2013. #Auburnpic.twitter.com/mQZMzN3gkp
2020 stats: 9 receptions, 97 yards, 26-yard season long reception vs Alabama
Buzz: Shenker must balance football, baseball, and school once again this spring. The infielder and tight end was absent in Saturday’s open practice due to Auburn baseball’s matchup against Ole Miss. So far this baseball season, Shenker has 3 runs, 3 hits, and 3 RBIs. The veteran of this tight end corps, Shenker still makes himself available to practice when he can and has been praised by Harsin for his tenacious work ethic.
2020 stats: 14 rush yards on 5 carries, 11-yard season long vs Arkansas/7 receptions, 57 yards, 16-yard season long vs LSU
Buzz: For Ole Miss JJ Pegues will always be the one that got away. Maybe it’s his frame that let Pegues escape to Auburn out of Ole Miss’ backyard, but don’t let that deceive you. Out of high school Pegues was ranked nationally as a top 10 tight end prospect by ESPN, Rivals, and 247Sports. His versatility at the line and in motion make him capable of creating nightmare matchups against defenses. In Saturday’s spring practice Pegues flattened Auburn LB Zakoby McClain while lined up at fullback. Auburn offensive coordinator Mike Bobo says that a focal point this spring has been moving Pegues around and playing him in a lot of positions.
Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
Luke Deal, sophomore
6’5″, 255 lbs
2020 stats: 2 receptions, 11 yards
Buzz: As a senior Deal was ranked by ESPN as the nation’s 10th highest rated tight end. Deal didn’t see game action until the Arkansas game last year and only recorded stats against South Carolina and Mississippi State. In Saturday’s open practice Deal was given first team reps and lined up in the slot as well as at fullback. His highlight from Saturday was an impressive one-handed grab on a great pass by Bo Nix.
Buzz: Frazier didn’t see game action until the Tigers played Tennessee last season and recorded stats against Mississippi State and Northwestern. As a high school prospect, ESPN, Rivals, and 247Sports rated Frazier as a top-25 tight end. During spring practice on Saturday Frazier impressed media, coaches, and fans by showing out as a passing game mismatch.
2020 stats: injured in 2019, saw game action against LSU
Buzz: As a senior, Fromm was rated by ESPN as the nation’s 8th highest ranked tight end prospect. He comes from a pedigree of talented brothers: his twin Dylan plays quarterback for Mercer and his older brother Jake played quarterback at Georgia and is now with the Buffalo Bills. In Saturday’s practice Fromm got several first team reps.
Auburn continues its hot streak on the recruiting trail in the Lone Star State as 6-foot-5, 215-pound ⭐️⭐️⭐️ tight end Landen King commits to the Tigers over offers from Texas, UGA, and Arizona St. among others. In 2019, King collected 53 receptions for 853 yds & 9 TDs #WarEaglepic.twitter.com/poFyTzQIfL
Buzz: Rated the ninth overall tight end prospect nationally by ESPN, King is a matchup nightmare in the passing game and will excel as a playmaker in Auburn’s offense.
The Tigers have plenty of depth at tight end with Pearl River Community College transfer Hayden Brice (senior) and Flynn Driscoll (junior). Bryan Harsin is a man with a plan and after Saturday’s practice it appears that he aims to get the talented corps of tight ends more involved in the offense.
Sports Illustrated has listed three players, two who signed with Auburn and one who decommitted, to their All-Decommit offensive Team.
[jwplayer LUbKEU3R-er0jUifI]
The minds of teenagers are a strange place and that definitely comes in hand when a high school football player is undergoing the recruiting process.
Minds are made up then changed and then changed again. Last-minute decisions are sometimes made with fan bases just waiting to hear their school’s name called.
Auburn was on both sides of that during the 2021 recruiting cycle as the Tigers won and lost some commits seemingly at the last minute.
One player that the Tigers held onto after he was previously committed to Virginia Tech is 4-star quarterback Dematrius Davis out of Houston. The eighth-ranked dual quarterback in the 2021 class signed with Auburn despite the coaching change on Dec. 16 and enrolled early.
The Tigers’ firing of Gus Malzahn seemingly cost them 5-star running back Armani Goodwin who ended up signing with SEC West rival LSU.
For Goodwin, a longtime Auburn commitment from within state lines, the change was initiated by the program moving on from Gus Malzahn after the 2020 season. Several programs made a run at the SI99 back, who just set the indoor 60-meter dash record in Class 7A, but LSU won out in the end.
Landen King, a 3-star tight end from Texas that signed with the Tigers instead of the home-state Longhorns is mentioned as well int he article as one of the under consideration players for the team.
Twitter wasn’t exactly happy with how Auburn’s 2021 signing class has turned out so far on the first day of the Early Signing Period.
Things today were certainly interesting. The good news is that Auburn managed to sign 12 commits today. The bad news is that the Tigers’ 2021 recruiting class is currently ranked 46th overall nationally. The Tigers have not fallen below the top 25 in recruiting since 2003. Luckily they have plenty of more time to improve before February 3rd.
Early Signing Day is always exciting, especially when it falls on day three of Auburn fans begging the question, “Who is Auburn even going to hire to coach these guys next year?”
Head coaching chaos aside, today was still an exciting day for Auburn fans and future players. I know I’m looking forward to watching each of these guys play in orange and blue. It takes a lot of courage for these young men to sign when the future of a program is uncertain, but hey, that’s when you know these guys love Auburn and are coming for the right reasons.
Let’s get into the reactions from today:
Auburn had a impressive early signing day considering the last couple of days. Still could end up being one of Auburn’s worst classes in years.
Diamond is an instinctual, smooth football player. He’s got deceptive speed and the ability to make a play at any time. Reminds me a lot of former Auburn Tiger and New England Patriots DB Jonathon Jones. https://t.co/fTPhhzRfVe
#Auburn landing a HUGE JUCO prospect here! Tigers look to build on the day with 6 LOI already being signed and looking for more. #NSDhttps://t.co/cF07Y1YJYq
If the biggest L AU took today was Jaeden Roberts, and it wasn’t a flip,just reopening recruiting, it’s not bad. Definitely would love the young man to come to Auburn, but there’s still a shot.
Sad news in addition to this, but redshirt freshman RB Mark Antony Richards has entered the transfer portal. It’s a depressing feeling to see depth leaving at a time like this. We wish him nothing but the best.
Today was not ideal by any means, but these young guys are the future. Take a deep breath, remain calm, and pray that Auburn’s decision makers find the right guy who can build upon this recruiting class, find some offensive linemen and linebackers, and coach these guys up to the standard of Auburn football that we all know and love.
Auburn recruiting may be in a rough place for 2021 but QB commit Dematrius Davis has had an impressive senior season.
The 2020 regular season ended the same way it starter for Dematrius Davis: with a dominant performance.
The 4-star quarterback has had a high school career for the ages, winning Texas 6A D-1 state titles as a sophomore and junior and is well on the way to winning his third in as many years.
After a 63-14 victoty over Atascocita (and fellow Auburn commit Landen King) he now has a 47-2 starter as a starter in the highest level of football in Texas.
With high school football coming to a close in most states only a few Auburn commits are still in action, and here’s a look at how they performed.
Landen King announced he was decommitting from Texas on Friday. The three-star prospect had been committed to UT since April 26, 2020.
2021 tight end Landen King announced he was decommitting from Texas on Friday. The three-star prospect from Atascocita, Texas had been committed to the Longhorns since April 26, 2020. In his tweet, King thanked head coach Tom Herman and the staff for the “amazing opportunity.”
King has never released a list naming his top schools, committing to Texas before having the opportunity to. While there are a few schools in contention for him, one has already been predicted to land King.
Just shortly after his announcement, 247Sports are predicting he will commit to Auburn. The Tigers offered King on April 3 and are now the favorite to land him. New offensive coordinator Chad Morris has been hot on the recruiting trail, trying to land weapons for quarterback Bo Nix.
I would like to thank Coach Herman and the Texas staff for giving me an amazing opportunity, but I would like to say that I will be de-committing from the University of Texas.
Going forward for the Longhorns, they have offered six other tight ends in the 2021 class. Three of the six remain uncommitted, with four-star Moliki Matavao, four-star Dametrious Crownover, and three-star Lake McRee being options as replacements.
Despite the decommitment, Texas remains the top-ranked recruiting class in the Big 12. The 2021 class now consists of one five-star, six four-stars, and three three-star prospects.
247Sports updated their recruiting rankings today, with UT commit Landen King got a massive bump and jumping over a Texas A&M commit.
247Sports updated their recruiting rankings today, with players across the country rising and falling down the leaderboards. Texas players both benefitted and were hurt by the new rankings, but Longhorns commit Landen King got a massive bump.
The three-star prospect went up 14 spots among tight ends in the 2021 recruiting class, all the way to No. 23. He is now the 72nd ranked player in the state of Texas and 530th nationally.
King committed to Texas over schools such as Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Texas A&M. He announced his decision in late April, making him the seventh prospect to commit to the Longhorns in the 2021 class.
Not everyone was thrilled about King’s bump on 247Sports, as Texas A&M fans have taken notice. Once King committed to Texas, the Aggies took a commitment from three-star Fernando Garza out of Katy, Texas. In the updated standings, he went down three spots to the 27th ranked tight end in the country.
That did not sit well with Texas A&M fans.
LOL Texas TE jumped 17 other TEs just enough to pass A&Ms previously Higher Ranked TE Commit…
David Allen was able to clear up the confusion, making sure everything was understood.
Translation: The TE target we lost to Texas jumped 17 other TEs just enough to pass A&M's TE that was offered after losing our TE to Texas https://t.co/UAy1ctCZoH
In all seriousness, these types of debates prove the Texas and Texas A&M rivalry is still well and truly alive. Not being able to play on the football field for eight seasons has taken a toll on fans and it must be taken out in recruiting.
A matchup that desperately needs to come back, debating, fighting, and arguing over recruits rankings while implying the media favors Texas will have to do.
Texas has landed a commitment from 2021 tight end Landen King. The three-star prospect chose the Longhorns over nine other schools.
Texas has landed a commitment from 2021 tight end Landen King. The three-star prospect chose the Longhorns over Alabama, Arizona State, Georgia, Oklahoma State, Penn State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Oregon, and Washington.
Landen King of Humble, Texas has narrowed down his list of schools to just ten prior to the start of the 2020 season. Where does Texas rank?
As the Texas Longhorns look to replace the commitment they lost when Lake McRee announced he was opening up his recruiting, they turned to Landen King. His crystal ball currently has the Longhorns as the favorites to earn his commitment for the 2021 class.
