Tag: Shedrick Jackson

CFN lists Auburn Football’s top players ahead of the 2022 season

Who will make the biggest impact for Auburn in 2022?

Auburn Football will have plenty of weapons on the field in 2022.

Offensively, the Tigers were paced by running back [autotag]Tank Bigsby[/autotag]. The second-year back rushed for 1,099 yards and ten touchdowns in 2021, while reeling in 21 passes for an additional 184 yards.

Auburn fans expect to see Bigsby have the same impact for Auburn this season, but they also hope to see a few more players step up and ease Bigsby’s workload.

There will be a quarterback battle involving four candidates in incumbent [autotag]TJ Finley[/autotag], freshman [autotag]Holden Greiner[/autotag], and transfers [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag] and [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag]. Whoever wins that battle will need to find a target at receiver that they can rely on. [autotag]Shedrick Jackson[/autotag] and [autotag]John Samuel Shenker[/autotag] are among the top candidates to fill that role.

Defensively, Auburn looks to be more stable. The top three tacklers from last season have all graduated, but defensive linemen [autotag]Colby Wooden[/autotag] and [autotag]Derick Hall[/autotag] are expected to be the top players up front. [autotag]Owen Pappoe[/autotag] returns at linebacker, and Oregon transfer [autotag]D.J. James[/autotag] should pair perfectly with safety [autotag]Zion Puckett[/autotag] in the backfield.

Who will make the biggest impact for Auburn football this season? Below is the list of the Tigers’ most impactful players according to College Football News: 

Expect to see more refined WR play under Ike Hilliard

Receivers coach Ike Hilliard could be the boost that Auburn’s passing game needs.

[autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag]’s staff received a facelift over the offseason, as two coaches were promoted to coordinators, and two more were added to the staff.

One of those additions is former Florida wide receiver and 12-year NFL veteran, [autotag]Ike Hilliard[/autotag].

Hilliard served as a wide receivers coach for four different NFL franchises, as well as the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League after retiring from the NFL in 2008. He looks to take on a new challenge by venturing into the college ranks for the first time in his career.

What can Auburn fans expect to see from the wide receivers under Hilliard’s watch? Current SEC Network analyst and former teammate of Hilliard at Florida, Chis Doering, weighs in.

In a recent episode of the local radio show, Sportscall, Doering says that he expects to see Hilliard apply what he learned during his days at Florida to Auburn’s wide receiver room.

“(At Florida) we were very precise with the way that we ran routes, proper depth, proper footwork, and the amount of breaks,” Doering said. “You are going to see more refined play at the receiver position because of what Ike Hilliard brings in. Not only the coaching style that he learned, but his playing experience and being able to communicate what it actually takes to be successful to play that position in this league.”

What will Auburn need to do offensively to be successful in 2022? Auburn will have a few targets this season at wide receiver, but no one carried a majority of the workload last season. Doering says that Auburn will need another offensive play maker, in addition to [autotag]Tank Bigsby[/autotag], to step up and provide relief for the junior running back.

“Tank Bigsby is a monster, but he can not do it alone at the running back position,” Doering says. “Figuring out a way to become more balanced and be more dynamic in the passing game is important. Maybe it is not a bad position for Auburn. Traditionally, in the years where people have not expected much, (Auburn) has actually surprised some people.”

[autotag]Shedrick Jackson[/autotag] is Auburn’s returning receiving yards leader. In 2021, he caught 40 passes for 527 yards and a touchdown.

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Projecting the pre-spring two-deep offensive depth chart

Continuing our spring preview series, we project what the two-deep could look like on offense.

This might be one of the most difficult roster projections with the number of unknowns on the offensive side of the ball. We will give it our best shot nonetheless.

While the Auburn Tigers have given no indication as to who the offensive coordinator will be, it should be relatively similar to last year under Bryan Harsin.

The quarterback battle will be one of four huge position tussles to monitor. There is no Bo Nix for the first time in four years but TJ Finley returns after finishing out the season as the starter. Two more quarterbacks have transferred in with 2021 Texas A&M starter Zach Calzada and former Oregon Duck Robby Ashford.

Not only will it be interesting from the standpoint of having any of five quarterbacks make the start, but the team also lacks a quarterback coach for the time being. That could change at any moment but the sooner it happens, the sooner the quarterbacks can get to work.

Wide receiver is another position that can vary based on where the players will line up. Losing Kobe Hudson, Caylin Newton, Elijah Canion, and Ja’Varrius Johnson will put you at a disadvantage. The names at the top of the two-deep will likely stay the same, but their placement on the field could change.

The tight ends and the offensive line seem pretty straightforward at this moment. We broke down each position in our pre-spring two-deep depth chart.

Spring Football Preview: Projecting an unproven receiver group

One group that has more questions than answers right now.

No unit on the offensive side of the ball has been hit harder this offseason than the wide receiver room for Auburn.

The Tigers knew they were losing Demetris Robertson after his senior season, but Kobe Hudson, Caylin Newton, Elijah Canion and Ja’Varrius Johnson all entered the transfer portal.

These departures mean Auburn must replace 105 receptions, 1,420 yards and 10 touchdowns from last years group, which struggles were well documented.

It will be up to wide receivers coach Eric Kiesau to help develop the receivers on the roster into solid targets for whoever wins the quarterback job. Here is a look at the wide receivers on the roster who will look to take advantage of the open opportunities.

Ja’Varrius Johnson reportedly enters transfer portal

Ja’Varrius Johnson is leaving town. Third WR to leave Auburn this offseason

Auburn may be losing another wide receiver.

According to On3.com’s Matt Zenitz, Auburn receiver Ja’Varrius Johnson has entered the transfer portal. The move would make him the third Auburn wide receiver to enter the portal this offseason, following Kobe Hudson and Elijah Canion, who transferred to UCF and Purdue, respectively.

Johnson appeared in 12 games for Auburn last season, catching 19 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns. His departure leaves Auburn with eight scholarship receivers on the roster in Shedrick Jackson, Malcolm Johnson Jr., Ze’Vian Capers, J.J. Evans, Tar’Varish Dawson, Omari Kelly, Camden Brown and Jay Fair.

Of them, only Jackson (40), Johnson (six) and Capers (six) have caught a pass in college.

Shedrick Jackson will return to Auburn in 2022

Shedrick Jackson has unfinished business.

Much like last season, Auburn will be losing quite a bit of receiver production, but on Wednesday afternoon the Tigers got a great piece of news.

Wide receiver Shedrick Jackson, nephew of Bo Jackson, announced that he will be returning for his fifth season at Auburn in 2022.

Shedrick started his career at Auburn back in 2018, catching two passes for 15 yards. This past season in 2021, Jackson had 50 receptions for 527 yards and one touchdown. He has 657 career receiving yards to his name.

With the loss of Kobe Hudson and Demetris Robertson, Shedrick announcing he will be coming back is huge. The Tigers desperately need depth in the receiver room and Jackson will be a veteran presence.

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Three winners from Auburn’s win over Georgia State

Is it time to get on the TJ Finley hype train?

“Stress-free football.” Those are three words you will never hear from an Auburn fan.

The Tigers managed to mount a huge comeback in the fourth quarter on homecoming after being down 24-12 at the half against Georgia State. It was not the ideal homecoming, but it made for dramatic football. Bo Nix was benched late in the third quarter for backup QB TJ Finley. Head coach Bryan Harsin said they were willing to try everything to get back into the game.

Harsin: “We hadn’t really done anything. I made the decision to change and try to create some type of momentum… We had played every running back. We played every wide receiver. You aren’t going to change the offensive line. That was my decision.”

Here are three winners from Auburn’s dramatic win over Georgia State on Saturday.

Report Card: Grading Auburn’s 60-10 win over Akron

Here’s a report card on Auburn’s 60-10 win over the Akron Zips.

What a great way to start off the Bryan Harsin era.

Auburn thumped the Akron Zips 60-10 on Saturday night. It’s the most points Auburn has scored in a head coach’s debut, breaking the previous record held by Gene Chizik (37 points vs Louisiana Tech in 2009).

Offensively, Nix was focused and having fun. Defensively, Auburn didn’t force any turnovers, but the defensive line looked furious. Had the starters stayed in, Auburn would have shut the Zips out. A complete performance from the Tigers deserves high praise. This is exactly what fans needed to see as a confidence booster heading into the next two weeks.

Here’s my report card on each individual unit for the Tigers.

Auburn Spring Practice: Who steps up at the wide receiver position?

Auburn has an inexperienced but talented wide receivers corps that will need to step up for the Tigers’ passing game in 2021.

I have a lot of questions about every aspect of Auburn football ahead of spring practice, but the wide receiver position is by far the most mysterious. This offseason the Tigers lost the majority of their wide receiver production in the departures of Seth Williams, Eli Stove, and Anthony Schwartz to the NFL.

It’s ‘next man up’ time and there are many fresh faces due to step up for the Tigers. I have no idea what the starting lineup is going to look like as that is Cornelius Williams’ job, but here’s everybody who’ll be competing:

Malzahn updates status of D.J. Williams and Shedrick Jackson

Auburn may be without two offensive pieces on Saturday for their always entertaining matchup with LSU Saturday.

Auburn may be without two offensive pieces on Saturday for its always entertaining matchup with LSU Saturday.

The Auburn Tigers could be without running back D.J. Williams and receiver Shedrick Jackson as both are battling injuries.

Williams, Auburn’s third-leading rusher this season behind Tank Bigsby and Bo Nix, carried the ball just once against Ole Miss. The run gained 8 yards but proved costly, as he left the field one play later hobbling and may be unable to go against the Bayou Bengals.

“It’s really hard to say, as far as being able to play,” Gus Malzahn said. “I’d probably need to get to Thursday before giving a more direct answer. We’re hopeful, but he did get banged up.”

Thankfully for Auburn, junior running back Shaun Shivers returned last week and looked like his normal shifty self, running for 60 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

With Williams potentially down, it will be up to Shivers and Nix to continue to compliment Bigsby, who has rushed for more than 100 yards in three consecutive games and has emerged as one of the top backs in the country as a true freshman.

Jackson, the team’s top blocking receiver, missed his second game of the season last week against Ole Miss.

Malzahn described his stats as, “questionable, probably, at best.”

Jackson has just five catches in his Auburn career but brings value as a downfield blocker.