Auburn's new crop of receivers saw an opportunity on the Plains in 2016, and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee says they'll get it.
The departures of Ricardo Louis, Melvin Ray and D'haquille Williams leave the Tigers with plenty of question marks at the position. Returners Marcus Davis, Tony Stevens and Jason Smith have combined for less than 1,000 receiving yards in their careers.
Auburn reloaded in the 2016 recruiting cycle by signing one of the country's top wide receiver classes. It includes a pair of former five-star prospects in Kyle Davis and Nate Craig-Myers as well as four-star Eli Stove and three-star Marquis McClain.
"That should help in the numbers and in the competition," Lashlee told AL.com earlier this month. "The young guys are going to get every opportunity. We believe they've got all kinds of ability. The best guys are going to play and we need play-makers to step up.
"Either the young guys are going to get in there and take charge and be ready to go — we've had a freshman receiver have 103 catches before, so that doesn't bother us — or it's going to motivate the older guys to raise their level."
Malzahn has hope for inexperienced WRs
The the top three returners have tallied less than 1,000 receiving yards combined in their careers as Tigers.
Former Auburn receivers coach Dameyune Craig played a large role in landing Davis, Craig-Myers, Stove and McClain before leaving for LSU in February shortly after National Signing Day. Craig's replacement, former Auburn quarterback and receiver Kodi Burns, has garnered positive reviews thus far from his fellow coaches.
"I think Kodi's done a nice job," Lashlee said. "Bringing him back is really helping the ability of that room to have that tough Auburn mentality that he had when he was a player and that our receivers had when he's worked with them. I think he's done a nice job setting the foundation for those guys, but yeah, the young guys are going to make an impact."
Craig-Myers (6-2, 205) racked up more than 1,600 all-purpose yards with 23 touchdowns as a senior at Tampa Catholic after missing nearly his entire junior season with an ACL injury. He told AL.com in March he was "definitely upset" when he heard about Craig's departure, but is excited to go "full steam ahead" with Burns.
"When (Auburn) brought in Coach Burns I definitely had a great feeling because he recruited me at Middle Tennessee," Craig-Myers said. "It was a sigh of relief knowing he played at Auburn, knows the system. He's a young coach and I know he's going to push us."
Davis (6-2, 208) tallied 1,499 yards and 18 touchdowns in his career at Archer High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia and is known for his physicality.
"My freshman year is going to be the rebuilding season," he told AL.com. "We have a lot of talented people, all we have to do is get the chemistry right. Once we do that, I feel like we're going to be clicking and something serious."
Davis enrolled at Auburn in January, but an offseason shoulder surgery kept him out of contact drills this spring along with sophomore Stanton Truitt, who is recovering from his own shoulder injury.
Lashlee said both Davis and Truitt are doing well and were able still able to run routes and catch balls during practice.
Davis looks the part
Davis has the size and ability to compete for a starting spot
"Obviously any time you can't go live that hurts," Lashlee said. "To be honest at the end of spring we probably could have thrown them out there, but there was just no point in it. We trust Dr. (James) Andrews, he knows what he's doing. The number one thing is they're full speed all summer and when we start fall camp. I know those guys are itching to get out there."
While Davis and Craig-Myers have received most of the attention from the media and fans alike, Stove (6-1, 178) and McClain (6-2, 209) will get a hard look from coaches this spring along. Sophomore Ryan Davis and redshirt freshman Darius Slayton will also be in the mix for playing time.
"At the end of the day we're going to put the guys on the field that are tough, physical and that we can count on to be where the quarterbacks needs them," Lashlee said. "As we saw last year sometimes the quarterback gets a little too much blame, and sometimes he gets too much credit. But it helps when he has guys in the right spot."
The departures of Ricardo Louis, Melvin Ray and D'haquille Williams leave the Tigers with plenty of question marks at the position. Returners Marcus Davis, Tony Stevens and Jason Smith have combined for less than 1,000 receiving yards in their careers.
Auburn reloaded in the 2016 recruiting cycle by signing one of the country's top wide receiver classes. It includes a pair of former five-star prospects in Kyle Davis and Nate Craig-Myers as well as four-star Eli Stove and three-star Marquis McClain.
"That should help in the numbers and in the competition," Lashlee told AL.com earlier this month. "The young guys are going to get every opportunity. We believe they've got all kinds of ability. The best guys are going to play and we need play-makers to step up.
"Either the young guys are going to get in there and take charge and be ready to go — we've had a freshman receiver have 103 catches before, so that doesn't bother us — or it's going to motivate the older guys to raise their level."
Malzahn has hope for inexperienced WRs
The the top three returners have tallied less than 1,000 receiving yards combined in their careers as Tigers.
Former Auburn receivers coach Dameyune Craig played a large role in landing Davis, Craig-Myers, Stove and McClain before leaving for LSU in February shortly after National Signing Day. Craig's replacement, former Auburn quarterback and receiver Kodi Burns, has garnered positive reviews thus far from his fellow coaches.
"I think Kodi's done a nice job," Lashlee said. "Bringing him back is really helping the ability of that room to have that tough Auburn mentality that he had when he was a player and that our receivers had when he's worked with them. I think he's done a nice job setting the foundation for those guys, but yeah, the young guys are going to make an impact."
Craig-Myers (6-2, 205) racked up more than 1,600 all-purpose yards with 23 touchdowns as a senior at Tampa Catholic after missing nearly his entire junior season with an ACL injury. He told AL.com in March he was "definitely upset" when he heard about Craig's departure, but is excited to go "full steam ahead" with Burns.
"When (Auburn) brought in Coach Burns I definitely had a great feeling because he recruited me at Middle Tennessee," Craig-Myers said. "It was a sigh of relief knowing he played at Auburn, knows the system. He's a young coach and I know he's going to push us."
Davis (6-2, 208) tallied 1,499 yards and 18 touchdowns in his career at Archer High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia and is known for his physicality.
"My freshman year is going to be the rebuilding season," he told AL.com. "We have a lot of talented people, all we have to do is get the chemistry right. Once we do that, I feel like we're going to be clicking and something serious."
Davis enrolled at Auburn in January, but an offseason shoulder surgery kept him out of contact drills this spring along with sophomore Stanton Truitt, who is recovering from his own shoulder injury.
Lashlee said both Davis and Truitt are doing well and were able still able to run routes and catch balls during practice.
Davis looks the part
Davis has the size and ability to compete for a starting spot
"Obviously any time you can't go live that hurts," Lashlee said. "To be honest at the end of spring we probably could have thrown them out there, but there was just no point in it. We trust Dr. (James) Andrews, he knows what he's doing. The number one thing is they're full speed all summer and when we start fall camp. I know those guys are itching to get out there."
While Davis and Craig-Myers have received most of the attention from the media and fans alike, Stove (6-1, 178) and McClain (6-2, 209) will get a hard look from coaches this spring along. Sophomore Ryan Davis and redshirt freshman Darius Slayton will also be in the mix for playing time.
"At the end of the day we're going to put the guys on the field that are tough, physical and that we can count on to be where the quarterbacks needs them," Lashlee said. "As we saw last year sometimes the quarterback gets a little too much blame, and sometimes he gets too much credit. But it helps when he has guys in the right spot."
