Projecting the Auburn defensive front depth chart

The summer offseason is in full swing, and Auburn Live is trying to survive it with our Position Week breakdowns. By the time all eight units (QB, RB, OL, WR, DT, Edge, LB, DBs) at Auburn have been covered, media days will have passed, training camp will have arrived, and the return of football inside Jordan-Hare Stadium will be just around the corner. We’re rolling out our positional weeks with the sixth group up: the Auburn defensive front.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Five questions around Auburn’s defensive front

How they got here: Mapping out the career paths of Auburn’s defensive front, so far

AUBURN — The Auburn football defensive front (for this, we’re combining tackles and the jack position) enter the 2023 season as a rebuilt unit.

Gone to the transfer portal are Tobechi Okoli (Iowa State), Dylan Brooks (Kansas), Jeffrey M’ba (Purdue) and Marquis Robinson. The quartet totaled 16 career tackles, with M’ba being the only serious contributor.

The real losses are Derick Hall , Colby Wooden and Eku Leota.

Hall finished his Auburn career with 146 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss and 19.5 sacks before being drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Wooden finished his career with 153 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss and 14 sacks before being drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the draft. Leota finished his college career with 66 tackles, 25 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks after transferring to Auburn from Northwestern. In just 17 games at Auburn, Leota tallied 15 tackles for loss and nine sacks before a season-ending injury cut his season and career short. Leota signed a free agent deal with the Carolina Panthers following the draft.

Arriving are Justin Rogers (Kentucky), Mosiah Nasili-Kite (Maryland), Lawrence Johnson (Purdue), Jalen McLeod (Appalachian State), Elijah McAllister (Vanderbilt) and Stephen Sings (Liberty). The six newcomers have 417 career tackles and 36 sacks.

Joining the six newcomers as returners are scholarship linemen Marcus Harris, Jayson Jones, Zykevious Walker and Enyce Sledge, along with walk-ons Garrison Walker, Godwin Owolabi, Joe Frazier Jr. Freshmen arriving include Wilky Denaud, Darron Reed Jr. and Stephen Johnson.

In addition to McAllister, McLeod and Sings, the jack position welcomes highly-touted freshmen Keldric Faulk and Opelika, Ala. standout Brenton Williams.

Under new defensive coordinator Ron Roberts and defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett, the emphasis will be on creating negative plays in the backfield and wreaking “havoc,” as Roberts would say. For Garrett, as is in the SEC, everything starts with stopping the run.

“It starts with the run, and you have to earn the right to rush,” Garrett said this spring. “So we’re going to spend a lot time on detailing the work on stopping the run. When we get to rushing the passer we have to win our one-on-ones, push the pocket and do whatever it takes to win the game. That’s what our guys have to do. That’s what we will build here.”

Buy-in is the key now, and Garrett likes what he’s seen thus far.

“The guys really bought in to where they were having player-led meetings and would watch the tape before I even get there,” he said. “They’d be coaching each other up. That’s what you want to build in that room where they know each others jobs and can hold each other accountable to that.”

Auburn Live is continuing its sixth position week of the summer by projecting the depth chart for the defensive front.

Projecting the Auburn WR depth chart

Projecting the Auburn OL depth chart

Projecting the Auburn TE depth chart

Projecting the Auburn RB depth chart

Projected starters

Rogers, Harris, Jones, McLeod, Faulk and McAllister.

A mixture of those six guys are the best bets to start for the Tigers against UMass on September 2. Rogers and Harris are no-brainers. Rogers is hoping to live up to that five-star resume and brings SEC experience to the table. Harris has started for Auburn the last two years at defensive tackle, racking up 13 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in the process. They are arguably the most talented and most reliable defensive players along the entire front. Jones is a handful at 6-foot-6 and 320-plus pounds, and will be looking to build off his 28-tackle season in 2022.

McLeod transferred to Auburn from App State for a reason: to bring his Power Five-level skill set to the big stage in the SEC. He goes into the season as Auburn’s best threat to pressure the quarterback after finishing with six sacks last season. Faulk has incredible upside, and while just a true freshman, will be counted on heavily. McAllister only tallied 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in four seasons at Vanderbilt, but he possesses the size at 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, plus the experience and leadership capabilities to be a critical part of the Tigers’ defense at the jack position.

Those six players will have to be on point for Auburn if Roberts’ defense wants to field a competitive group this fall.

Projected backups

Nasili-Kite, Johnson, Walker, Sledge, Reed Jr., Denaud, Sings and Williams.

Nasili-Kite is one to watch. The 6-foot-2 and 290-pound transfer stood out to coaches Freeze and Garrett during spring camp, earning a shoutout by name from Freeze at one point as one of the “most improved” players during spring. After recording 14.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks in three seasons at Maryland, he will compete for the starting spot at the defensive end position.

Sings is an interesting prospect. After recording 9.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks in three seasons at Liberty, the competition will be a major step up. The Tigers needed depth and Sings certainly provides that, and experience with Liberty coaches Garrett and Josh Aldridge who came with Freeze. At 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, size won’t be the issue for Sings transitioning into the SEC.

Johnson and Walker are the only other options with Power Five experience, with Johnson transferring in from Purdue and Walker returning after two seasons at Auburn, and after briefly flirting with the transfer portal. Walker only tallied 7.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in four seasons at Purdue, while Walker has only produced 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in 12 total games over three seasons. Walker is a former top-100 prospect that at 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, needs to live up to the billing sooner or later.

Sledge enters the season after a redshirt year, while Reed Jr., Denaud and Williams start their careers as true freshmen.

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