The members of the Southeastern Conference media put Auburn in the strange position heading into the 2015 season.
The Tigers were selected as the favorite to win the SEC championship, but they were also picked to finish second in the West.
Auburn Head Coach Gus Malzahn welcomes back 15 starters for last year’s 8-5 squad as he enters his third season with the Tigers.
“We’ve got some big shoes to fill,” Malzahn said during the recent conference media days. “We lost most of our rushing yards. We lost over half of our receiving yards.”
“We do have some experience coming back even though a lot of them didn’t start,” Malzahn continued. “We have some young guys that are extremely talented also with that group.”
One of those talented players is junior Jeremy Johnson, who was named the starting quarterback after spring practice.
“This will be his third year in our system,” Malzahn said. “Even though he’s (been) the backup, he got a lot of reps with the ones in practice. He has two starts, of course last year starting out against an SEC opponent in the first half at home. I feel very good about where he’s at. His coaches and his teammates have a lot of confidence in him, and he’s earned that.”
Jeremy Johnson
Johnson was in seven games a year ago and he completed 28-of-37 passes for 436 yards and three touchdowns.
“I really appreciate the way that he responded to not being the starter the last couple of years, when he could have started for the majority of the teams,” Malzahn said. “The way he’s really responded is really something special.”
Johnson is ready to lead the offense.
“My approach is to just stay humble,” he said. “I’m blessed to be in this situation. I’m blessed to have this opportunity to be the quarterback at Auburn University. I’m just ready to lead my team each and every game, and just try to be ready every game.”
“The offense is pretty much going to be the same,” Johnson added. “We’re still going to run the ball. The offense is going to be amazing this year. We’ve got a lot of weapons around me and I feel comfortable.”
The top runner returning is sophomore Roc Thomas, who gained 214 yards with a pair of scores in 2014. The receiving corps is led by D’haquille Williams, who grabbed 45 passes for 730 yards and five touchdowns.
Defensively, the Tigers are now led by former Florida mentor Will Muschamp. The head coach for the Gators the last for years, Muschamp returns to the Defensive Coordinator position, which he held at Auburn in 2006-2007.
“He just has that presence around him that he gives all the coaches confidence,” Malzahn said. “He gives his players confidence. And he’s got the it factor. So we’re very blessed to combine his defense with an offense that we’ve been running. We think the future’s very bright.”
A pair of defensive backs highlight the group Muschamp will lead.
Jonathan Jones was All-SEC Second Team last season, Johnathan Ford had 93 tackles a year ago.
Although he missed the entire 2014 season after being picked All-SEC in the pre-season, Carl Lawson is expected to be a factor for the defense. A junior, Lawson had four sacks in 2013.
Auburn begins the season in Atlanta against Louisville on Sept. 5. After a home game against Jacksonville State on Sept. 12, the Tigers open their SEC slate on the road at LSU the following week.
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