By Jackson Schroeder
SouthernPigskin.com

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Taking a look at the prospects for the Auburn Tigers this fall.

Offense:

The Auburn Tigers intend to bounce back from a disappointing 7-6 regular season record in 2015. The biggest question entering the upcoming season for the Tigers lies at the quarterback position. Rising senior Jeremy Johnson will compete with sophomore Sean White and junior college transfer John Franklin III for the starting job.

This is the first time in the past five years that Coach Gus Malzahn will have to make a major quarterback decision. Jeremy Johnson started the 2015 season with Heisman aspirations and enormous expectations to fill the shoes of Nick Marshall. After throwing six interceptions in his first three starts in 2015, Johnson lost his starting job to Sean White. White protected the ball better than Johnson, but struggled to get the ball in the end zone, only throwing for one touchdown in 2015.
John Franklin III is a junior college transfer who is a less likely candidate to win the starting job. He does well on his feet but struggles with accuracy and is still learning the playbook.

Sean White is the more established pocket passer, but struggles running the ball. Jeremy Johnson makes up where White lacks by posing a serious threat with his feet, but he struggles with turnovers.

The key for Auburns offense in the upcoming season is to find weapons to take pressure off of the quarterbacks shoulders. The most likely candidate is running back Jovon Robinson, who rushed for over 90 yards in five of his last six games. Malzahn also looks to top upperclassmen receivers, Marcus Davis and Tony Stevens.

Defense:

The story defensively for the Tigers entering 2016 is the departure of Will Muschamp and the arrival of Kevin Steele.

Muschamp came to Auburn last year as one of the highest paid coordinators in the NCAA. He had high aspirations but failed to find his groove as his Tiger defense finished 13th overall in the SEC. With his departure to be the head coach of South Carolina, Coach Malzahn brought in former LSU defensive coordinator, Kevin Steele. Steele saw immediate success in his only year in Baton Rouge. His LSU Tigers finished 5th in the SEC defensively.

There is plenty of talent available for Auburn to be an elite defensive team. The defensive front, led by Carl Lawson and Montravius Adams is the strongest part of this defense. Paul James, a junior college recruit, helps add depth to this Auburn front.
The linebacker core is led by Tre Williams, who enters his junior season coming off a career high, 55 tackles in 2015. Williams looks to build off of last year and further establish himself as an elite SEC linebacker.

As far as the secondary goes, experienced players, Tray Matthews and Rudy Ford, have locked the safety positions in place. At corner back, Coach Steele looks for a competition between Ohio State transfer, Jamel Dean and Miami (Ohio) transfer Marshall Taylor to accompany sophomore All-SEC selection Carlton Davis.

Overall:

Auburn opens the season at home against national runner-up Clemson. This will serve as a measuring stick for where they stand at the beginning of the season. On a good note, the Tigers stay at home for the first five weeks. If Auburn can accumulate some home wins early on, it will serve as a building block that they can gain some momentum off of for the games to come. Auburn has some promising attributes, but a difficult SEC west schedule awaits them.

Predicted Record: 7-5