Auburn Football: Final 2014 Positional Grades for the Tigers

AUBURN, Ala. — Monday marks the official start of the holiday break for Auburn students, so it's definitely time for some final grades for the semester.

The football program started out in August with a lot of promise and high hopes, but it tailed off toward the end of what was a frustrating fall.

Big moves are on the horizon for the Tigers after the departure of their talented senior class, and head coach Gus Malzahn is already building toward next season with the hiring of new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.

Before the Tigers begin their Outback Bowl practices Monday afternoon, let's review the final report card for Malzahn and his team after an 8-4 regular season.

Quarterbacks

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QB Nick Marshall

It's safe to say Nick Marshall didn't make the big leap forward that his coaches were hyping up during the offseason. Marshall's passing numbers were just slightly better in 2014 than they were in 2013—a 0.7 percent raise in completion rate and 40 more yards per game on 32 more passing attempts.

Marshall did save his best for last, putting up more than 500 yards of total offense in a shootout loss to No. 1 Alabama. He was less effective in the running game than many predicted heading into the season, but the senior still averaged more than five yards per carry while compiling 11 rushing touchdowns.

All in all, Marshall's 2014 season was good but not great, fitting into the theme for the rest of the team. It is worth noting that the position looks to be set for the near future as sophomore Jeremy Johnson—who threw for a 76 percent completion mark and 436 yards—made the most out of his first career start in the season opener and the limited time he was called in to throw the ball this season.

Grade: B-

Running Backs

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RB Cameron Artis-Payne

Senior Cameron Artis-Payne waited for his chance to become Auburn's feature back, and he cashed in the opportunity for some huge dividends in the 2014 season.

While the nation's No. 1 rushing offense fell to No. 12 in 2014, Artis-Payne led the SEC in rushing yards and cracked the top 20 nationally by the end of the regular season. He was held to double digits in the yards column only four times in 12 games and carried the ball 16 or more times in each contest.

Artis-Payne's big season came at the expense of fellow senior Corey Grant, whose production tailed off toward the end of the season. True freshman Roc Thomas showed some promise with impressive burst and open-field moves, but some rookie mistakes hampered him in big spots at Mississippi State and Alabama.

Grade: A-

Wide Receivers

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WR D'haquille Williams

Injuries seemed to be the only thing that could slow down the high-powered duo of D'haquille Williams and Sammie Coates. Unfortunately for Auburn, those injuries came at separate times during the season—Coates in the first half, Williams in the second half—so there were only a few games when both players were at 100 percent.

While Coates struggled to hit top speed and be more consistent with his hands, Williams showed the country what he could do by hauling in incredible catch after incredible catch. When both players were healthy, Williams drew extra defenders in the intermediate passing game, which allowed Coates to be an explosive deep threat and the nation's No. 3 receiver in yards per catch.

Outside of Williams and Coates, senior Quan Bray had a few big games to end what had been a lackluster Auburn career on a high offensive note. Ricardo Louis and Marcus Davis were the only remaining wide receivers to have double-digit catches in the regular season as the overwhelming majority of the passing game went through the three starting wideouts. 

Grade: B+

Tight Ends/H-Backs

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TE C.J. Uzomah

The tight end position is not used as much in Malzahn's passing offense compared to seasons past, which led to an inconsistent amount of production for C.J. Uzomah.

The senior finished the regular season with 10 catches and two touchdowns, but he didn't record a catch in half of the Tigers' games. His best night of the season, three catches for 39 yards, came in a forgettable loss at the hands of Georgia. Uzomah caught most of the passes thrown to him, but they weren't enough to make a real impact one way or another in Auburn's attack this season.

At H-back, fellow senior Brandon Fulse wasn't quite the same impact-blocking presence the Tigers had in Jay Prosch last season. Fulse had a few big blocks from time to time in 2014, but Malzahn will probably want to see a lot more out of the position in the future.

Grade: C

Offensive Line

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C Reese Dismukes

Led by Rimington Award winner Reese Dismukes, the Auburn offensive line once again had an impressive season despite some lineup changes throughout the season.

Without the departed Greg Robinson and the injured Alex Kozan—while having to pass block a bit more—the Tigers did a better job of preventing sacks for the mobile Marshall in 2014. The front five paved the way for another SEC-leading rusher and are on track to return several starters again for next season.

There were some glaring issues, especially with Robinson's replacement, Shon Coleman. The redshirt sophomore was slapped with several holding calls in the latter part of the season due to struggles with speed rushers, and those penalties seemed to slow down momentum for the entire unit at times. 

Grade: B+

Defensive Line

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DT Montravius Adams

Without its two best pass-rushers from the 2013 season, Auburn's defensive woes started up front in 2014 as the Tigers simply could not get any pressure on opposing quarterbacks in the SEC schedule.

Auburn's sack leader, junior college transfer DaVonte Lambert, isn't your prototypical pass-rusher but stepped up with effort plays when the rest of the line struggled to get penetration. Montravius Adams had some good spurts down the middle while Angelo Blackson recorded a few big plays, but the overall production was quite limited.

Perhaps the saving grace of this unit was its performance against the run, as Auburn cut down on opponents' rushing yards and explosive plays this season with some better tackling up front, especially at the beginning of the year. But just like the rest of Auburn's defense, the line will need to shake things up in the offseason under new coordinator Will Muschamp.

Grade: C-

Linebackers

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LBs Cassanova McKinzy and Kris Frost

Juniors Cassanova McKinzy and Kris Frost had their share of blown assignments and missed tackles throughout the season for Auburn's mediocre defense.

However, the duo were arguably the most consistent defensive players on the field this season. McKinzy and Frost finished the regular season No. 1 and No. 2 on the team, respectively, in tackles for loss and No. 2 and No. 3 in overall tackles.

Anthony Swain and Justin Garrett made a few highlights of their own throughout the season, giving some hope for a defense that will need more linebacker depth in the impending switch from Ellis Johnson's 4-2-5 defense. Muschamp and his staff are inheriting talent and experience that could definitely benefit from playing in a new system.

Grade: B-

Defensive Backs

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CB Jonathan Jones

Auburn's secondary continued to be its weakest link in 2014 as the Tigers were in bottom half of the SEC and the country in passing yards allowed per game.

Safety Jermaine Whitehead's midseason suspension turned into a problem during the heart of the conference schedule, while experienced cornerback Jonathon Mincy regressed from one of Auburn's best defenders into a player who was routinely targeted by opposing teams. On top of all that, junior college transfer Derrick Moncrief failed to make the big impact at safety like many expected in 2014, and Robenson Therezie had an extremely quiet year at "Star" after a breakout 2013 campaign.

What kept this unit from a failing grade was the high amount of interceptions it generated—Auburn's mark of 19 ties the team for sixth nationally heading into bowl season. Cornerback Jonathan Jones led the way for the Tigers in that category and had the best all-around performances of anyone in what was once again a poor unit.

Grade: D

Specialists

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H Tyler Stovall and K/P Daniel Carlson

Despite having to do it all in the special teams game, Daniel Carlson posted a strong season in place-kicking and had only a few miscues as the kickoff specialist. He hit the third-most field goals in the SEC this season as a true freshman and never missed a single extra-point attempt.

Punting was a different story. Backup Jimmy Hutchinson did not offer much help to what was an average season for Carlson, who started the year with a SEC Special Teams Player of the Week performance thanks to a few booming punts against Arkansas.

Bray will most likely finish the season as the nation's No. 2 punt returner, going above and beyond Chris Davis' contributions in non-field-goal situations from last season. Fumbles were a problem toward the end of the season, but Bray still posted one of the best seasons by any punt returner in school history to finish out his collegiate career.

Grade: B

All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All recruiting rankings and information courtesy of 247Sports. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.

Justin Ferguson is Bleacher Report's lead Auburn writer. Follow him on Twitter @JFergusonAU.