Zion Puckett interview takeaways: His role, tackling, receivers and more

AUBURN — Auburn football safety Zion Puckett met the media on Monday following the Tigers’ scrimmage. Puckett is the projected starter at the boundary/box safety. He talked about his role, being a veteran, about young guys, and the receivers.

How is camp going?

“Everything is going pretty good, doing what I need to do, staying healthy, being a leader. Just being more vocal with being a leader. Trying to bring everybody along. Getting all the younger guys to transition from high school to college.”

Which young guys are standing out? Puckett pointed toward one guy in particular.

“I can definitely say Kayin Lee, the corner. We had him in the spring, so bringing him along from January to now has been a good thing for him. Just the knowledge of the game and his phsyicality. Just being able to strike at the point of attack. That will make him come a long way for us.”

Puckett sees a heavy rotation at each position on the defense.

“I think there will be a lot of rotation with the DL, linebackers, corners, and safeties. I think there’s going to be able to rotate. That has been a main focus. You need everybody. More than 11. You need all the players who can to play.”

The receivers are impressing Puckett so far. He was also asked about Jay Fair.

“That group is very competitive I can say that. Just having a lot of people with the slots, outside receivers. The versatility is amazing. I feel like that will help us a lot this year.”

“I can see his (Fair) leadership helping him a lot. The leadership and having a different focus. First year coming in, then second year, I feel like he will have a great year. The second year is just getting organized.”

What was the main thing Puckett thinks the defense needs to fix from the scrimmage?

“Like I said, tackling right now. You know that was our first time tackling, but just focusing on that dog mindset. Just running to the ball. Eliminate everything and run to the ball.”

Puckett and Simpson have played together for a while. The move to safety was the right move, Puckett said about Simpson.

“My relationship with him is good. This is our fifth year. Just having that relationship with him off the field will help on the field. You can kind of connect with them on the field. Having him back there helps me and I help him. He moved there last year and I think that is a good spot for him. Just to have him there moving around, more versatility, just having him there is good for us.”

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