Auburn Football: Who Will Emerge as Tigers' No. 2 WR Behind Duke Williams?
At this point last year, Auburn was looking for Sammie Coates' sidekick.
Coates was coming off a 2013 season in which he finished third nationally in yards per catch. But the Tigers' top vertical threat looked like their only threat toward the end of the year, and Auburn was on the hunt for that X-factor at No. 2 on the depth chart.
Fast-forward to today, when Duke Williams not only became Coates' tag team partner out wide last season, but he also surpassed Coates as the player with the most catches on the whole team.
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| Sammie Coates | 34 | 741 | 21.79 | 4 |
| D'haquille Williams | 45 | 730 | 16.22 | 5 |
| Quan Bray | 39 | 471 | 12.08 | 4 |
| Ricardo Louis | 21 | 261 | 12.43 | 3 |
| Melvin Ray | 8 | 182 | 22.75 | 1 |
Now the tables have turned. Who is going to be the No. 2 behind Williams, who made the surprising decision to come back to Auburn for one more year?
"We need guys to fill in and complement [Williams], take some pressure off him going into the season where people can't key on him," wide receivers coach Dameyune Craig told the Montgomery Advertiser's James Crepea. "We have a quarterback now that's more of a passer than a runner, and we're going to be able to stretch the field a little bit more."
Unlike last offseason, Auburn doesn't have a 5-star wide receiver recruit like Williams coming in to become an instant impact in Gus Malzahn's offense.
But what the Tigers do have are several experienced players and a few targets looking to make their moves up the depth chart this offseason.
Here's a look at what all of them could bring to Auburn's passing attack in 2015.
Marcus Davis
A former high school quarterback, Davis was a surprise contributor in his true freshman season of 2013. He finished third on the team with 23 catches for 217 yards, including an incredible grab in the Tigers' important road upset of Texas A&M.
But with Williams, Coates and senior Quan Bray getting the vast majority of targets from Nick Marshall in 2014, Davis' production slipped to 13 catches for 92 yards.
Davis was a slot receiver his first two seasons at Auburn, but more opportunities could emerge for him on the outside, where he practiced this spring.
"He's a great route-runner, he understands how to get open," Craig told Crepea. "He understands how to beat press man, doesn't have the top-end speed that you would love, but he has great speed and tremendous quickness."
Davis also has some of the most reliable hands on the team and the versatility to play different positions across Auburn's offense. While the 5'9", 180-pounder is far from the size of a Williams (6'2", 224 lbs), he has a well-rounded skill set that could lead to big plays this fall.
Ricardo Louis
When it comes to being the pure vertical threat in place of Coates, Louis is the ideal candidate to become a top-two receiver for the Tigers this year.
After all, Louis is already the face of the most famous deep ball in Auburn history:
Even though Louis is one of the fastest players on the roster, he wasn't called upon to stretch the field as much in 2014. Expect that to change this season, because the Miami native says he is ready to do what Coates did at Auburn.
"As the deep man, the big-play ability? Yeah. I'll be that," Louis said earlier this year, according to AL.com. "With me, Duke and Jeremy coming back, we have a good relationship now, but moving on to next season, it's going to be even better."
Louis has the frame (6'2", 215 lbs) and the physical gifts to be Coates' replacement. If he can become a consistent weapon in both catches and his targets, Louis could have a monster senior season on the Plains.
Melvin Ray
Good things happen for Auburn when Ray gets the ball.
The former minor league baseball player has recorded catches in only nine games these last two seasons, and he's recorded double digits in yardage in all but one of them. Auburn fans remember him most for his surprise touchdown grab against Florida State in the BCS National Championship Game and his 49-yard score in last season's opening win over Arkansas.
At 6'3" and 215 pounds, Ray is another ideal red-zone threat with Williams. Last offseason, Ray's teammates called him a leader at the position.
"He’s got a big body, and he knows how to put his body in front of you and place the ball," former Auburn receiver and cornerback Trovon Reed said. "He’s just a guy waiting on his turn, waiting on his breakout time. He’s going to shock the world."
Ray's breakout time hasn't happened yet, but it could come this season as Auburn looks for answers at wideout.
Tony Stevens
Like Davis, Stevens was another sophomore whose numbers slid last season.
But there's plenty of optimism surrounding Stevens, who has the impressive speed and size—he stands at 6'4"—to replace Coates.
His biggest problem, according to Craig, is his consistency.
"Tony's a kid that had the physical ability to be a great player, be an NFL player, just have to be consistent on every play," Craig told Crepea. "Tony can come out and look like a first-round pick on one snap, and the next, he looks like he's an undrafted free agent. I've never really coached a kid with that big of a dip."
Perhaps an opening on the depth chart and a change at quarterback will get Stevens more established in Auburn's offense because, on paper, he looks like a potential star.
The Best of the Rest
Stanton Truitt returns as the only other receiver on Auburn's roster who recorded a catch in 2014. Truitt had two receptions for 13 yards before suffering a season-ending injury midway through the schedule. While he's undersized, Truitt is a speed demon at slot receiver who could receive major minutes this season.
Elsewhere, redshirt freshman Myron Burton Jr. received high praise from his coaches and teammates for his attitude in spring practices. He had a huge performance at Auburn's A-Day Game in April, recording seven catches for 124 yards and a touchdown.
In terms of new blood, 4-star signee Darius Slayton could challenge for early playing time in his Auburn career. The quick Georgia native was the No. 15 receiver in the country for the class of 2015 and flipped his commitment to the Tigers right before national signing day.
JUCO star Jason Smith competed at quarterback at the start of the spring for the Tigers but was quickly moved to wide receiver, where the coaches hope they can use his raw athleticism.
"You have to worry about a lot of stuff at quarterback," Smith told AL.com's Brandon Marcello. "I didn't see anything wrong with moving to receiver at all. I think I will help the team at that way."
Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
Justin Ferguson is an On-Call College Football Writer at Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
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