SEC Football Top 150 Players: No. 91, Daren Bates, Auburn LB

The SEC Blog will be counting down the top 150 players in the SEC every day, concluding on Aug. 30, at the start of the college football regular season.

91. Daren Bates, No. 25, Auburn Linebacker

2011 stats: 104 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks

Strengths

Bates led all Auburn tacklers as a junior in 2011 and has emerged as one of the leaders of the young Auburn defense. He was an All-SEC performer as a freshman in 2009 but made the move to outside linebacker before the 2010 season and has responded well. 

Weaknesses

New defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder has stated that he wants his Auburn defense to get bigger, and Bates is a prime example of how small that defense was last season.

At 5'11", 205 pounds, Bates is on the small side, so he needs to hit the weights this offseason to bulk up. According to Jason Caldwell of Inside the Auburn Tigers, Bates is up to 220 pounds so far this offseason.

2012 Prediction

Bates has taken more of a leadership role this spring, and that's something that the Auburn defense needs as it transitions to VanGorder's new scheme. He is being counted on to be a force stopping the run and in pass coverage this season.

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