Auburn Football: 5 Weakest Positions to Worry About

Auburn football came out of spring with a lot of positives. Still, the Tigers have five positions that will bring worry heading into the fall. 

The Tigers have had issues with injuries and depth at a few of the linebacker positions, and have lacked production out of the receivers. 

With a quarterback battle that surrounds itself with inexperience and moderate success, and a right tackle position that may start a freshman, the Tigers will have a few worries entering fall. 

Looking ahead at positions that will receive a lot of attention this fall, here are the five weakest positions the Tigers need to worry about for 2012. 

Right Tackle

Auburn entered spring with a very talented but youthful group along the offensive line. With only one senior upfront, the Tigers will need to build chemistry early and develop quickly to be effective this season.

The good news for the Tigers is that a number of the offensive linemen may be young, but they have gained experience over the last two seasons.

One position that lacks much if any experience is right tackle. In fact, true freshman Patrick Miller made a big push for the position this spring as an early enrollee. Offensive line coach Jeff Grimes showed last year that he isn’t afraid of starting young guys if their ready, but this is far from ideal.

As the summer workouts turn into fall practice at the start of August, expect this position to be settled rather quickly. I would also expect Patrick Miller to be a regular contributor if not the starter by game one. 

No matter the level of talent that Miller may bring to the table, starting a true freshman is something for the Tigers to worry about. 

Quarterback

Even though I think this race is over, it's a position that will lead to some worry heading into the fall. 

The Tigers have yet to officially announce the starter, but Kiehl Frazier appears to be the shoe-in for the job after his spring showing.

Frazier looked the part for the Tigers in the spring game—the only time the Tigers were public this spring—but his inconsistency a year ago and lack of experience leads to concern. 

You can paint this picture any way you want, but no firm starter at quarterback is not where you want to be if you are Auburn. The sooner this is settled internally, the better off this team will be heading into August.

Wide Receiver (Field Side)

Auburn was terrible through the air offensively last season. There were a number of factors that hurt the production of the Tigers' passing game, but receivers not making plays may have been the biggest issue.

Emory Blake is firmly entrenched at the boundary receiver position, but the field receiver position is up for grabs. 

Auburn returns its most veteran players at the position with two seniors—DeAngelo Benton and Travante Stallworth—likely getting the starting nods. 

Neither guy has shown the ability to make plays or get open consistently, however, so Auburn will be looking for a new trend from the position in the new offense.

Behind Stallworth and Benton will be sophomore Jaylon Denson. The group of three will look to take the pressure off of Emory Blake and make some plays this season. The talent is there, but the inconsistent production leaves concern heading into the fall.  

Outside Linebacker (Strong Side)

Auburn entered spring with very few injuries defensively, but Jonathan Evans—the Tigers' most experience linebacker—was one of the few that was unable to practice. 

That was not good news as the next Tigers player in line for the position is redshirt freshman Kris Frost. 

Frost is a tough athlete and is building toward what looks to be a great career, but he is coming off a shoulder surgery and carries zero experience at the collegiate level. 

With the return of Evans this fall and the experience that Frost gained throughout spring and summer, the Tigers should be in decent position by the first game.

This is still a position of concern for the Tigers as growing pains will surely come for Frost at one point or another this fall.

Middle Linebacker

The Tigers left the spring practice session with starter Jake Holland firmly entrenched at the middle linebacker position. Behind Holland is where the concern starts.

The Tigers lost experienced linebacker Jawara White early in spring to a career-ending injury, leaving the Tigers with only one scholarship backup at the position.

As Auburn heads into the fall, incoming freshman Cassonova McKinzy will get a shot to play middle linebacker as well. That leaves one player with experience—Jake Holland—and two freshmen. Walk-on Ashton Richardson is also in the mix, but he isn’t likely to make a major impact.

With a returning starter at the position, this wouldn’t look to be a major point of concern for the Tigers, but with the injuries that Holland has faced in the past, having a quality backup that can share reps never hurts. 

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