Takeaways: Jay Fair on rising confidence, Payton Thorne, relationship with Marcus Davis and more
AUBURN — Auburn football sophomore receiver Jay Fair spoke with the media on Wednesday after an impressive fall camp. The young wideout spoke about his rising confidence, role within the Auburn offense, relationship with his position coach and more.
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Fair has been praised by coaches and players alike for his improvements during fall camp. Offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery even called Fair “electric,” with Hugh Freeze consistently mentioning Fair as one of Auburn’s more reliable players at the position.
“For the most part it has been pretty fun, just getting to work with the team, the new staff, getting the plays down, the system down, overall it has been pretty fun. I feel like all of the hard work we have put in as a unit has paid off, so it has been pretty fun.”
What’s Fair’s role on this team?
“Being a leader number one. Just doing things right and leading by example. Then just kind of making those plays I’m supposed to make whether it is 1-2 catches a game or 5-6 catches a game. Not too high not too low, kind of stay the same.”
Fair believes his confidence has really grown since last fall. That’s to be expected going from Year One to Year Two, and after having the type of camp that Fair enjoyed over the last two weeks.
“I feel like I used to struggle with leadership early on, but I got more comfortable with the hard work. I just kind of accepted that role and realized that I am not the same guy I was last year. I have a year under my belt, some adversity so I have seen a lot more than before. I feel like that confidence came with the hard work that I put in with the guys around me that believe in me.
“I learned a lot. You have to always expect the unexpected. Then you have to keep your faith strong through everything. If you don’t faith then, boy, you’re going to be in some trouble when adversity hits. I learned a lot and used my experience that I carried over from the last year.”
Auburn wide receiver Jay Fair speaks to the media on August 23, 2023. (Photo by Justin Hokanson/Auburn Live)
What does Fair think about Auburn’s newest starting quarterback?
“I think (Payton Thorne) brings great leadership to the table. He picked up the offense fast, which is pretty incredible considering he just transferred in. Those are some of the qualities that stood out to me early on.”
The receivers remain an unknown commodity, but Fair sees the potential.
“I think we have the potential to do really well, just have to take it day-by-day. We are growing weekly as a unit, so I feel like we just have to stay consistent with that. I feel like there will not be any drop off between rotating and with different positions: outside, inside, or whatever. I feel like everybody in the room is capable of doing everything.”
Fair praised assistant coach Marcus Davis, noting Davis’ “faith” plays a positive part in the room’s growth.
“I think he has had a good impact on the room considering the past that we have had. He brings a lot of energy, great leadership. As a faith side of things, I think he is pretty strong in his faith which I think impacts us all in the room in a positive way. I feel like we will have a pretty successful year with him as our receivers coach.”
Is the receiver position coming together? Rotations and starters are yet to be determined, and will likely continue to evolve into the season.
“I feel like Coach Davis is dong a good job mashing all the guys together. When you bring in a bunch of transfers some of the guys kind of fall off. They see it as them trying to take your spot. We just see it as we are all trying to get each other better. We all have the same goals to make it to the next level and we all want the best for each other. So we stay positive from that aspect and we will continue to grow in the receiver room.”
Shane Hooks made his mark last Saturday with two touchdowns during the final fall scrimmage.
“I think he has picked up the offense rather quick too. His ability to make plays and stretch the defense down the field I feel like will give a lot of teams something to game plan around him. It also opens up some of the other receivers in the receiver room. I feel like his leadership has also come on pretty strong too.”
Ohio State transfer Caleb Burton is another fall camp standout.
“I see a lot of potential in Caleb, very hard worker, next play mentality kind of guy. The more he gets himself comfortable with the system, I feel like we will see a pretty high ceiling for him. I looked up to him in high school, him being a sophomore and freshman getting noticed pretty early. He was one of the few guys in my class that I looked up to to try and be better in aspects of my games. Crazy how it ended up being full-circle, him coming to Auburn, us being in the same room. I have kind of mentored him a little bit just with learning the offense and stuff like that. It has been crazy.
“I think his deception in routes is crazy. His ability to get open, play with space, speed, his ball tracking skills are pretty good and his hard work. I think he will bring a lot to the receiver room especially in my position.”
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