AnQuon Fegans is already feeling the game open up.
After a freshman season that gave Auburn a glimpse of what the former Thompson High School standout can do, the sophomore safety says Year 2 is looking different. The speed, the reads, the whole thing has started to settle in for him.
“Everything really slowed down,” Fegans said Tuesday.
That’s a notable shift for a player who arrived on the Plains with plenty of buzz and then backed it up in a limited but useful role. Fegans never cracked the starting lineup as a freshman, but he appeared in all 12 games and finished with 24 total tackles, two pass deflections and one interception. For Auburn, it was the kind of early contribution that hinted at bigger things ahead.
Now, even with several safety contributors back in the fold, Fegans and fellow sophomore Eric Winters are being treated as the future of the back end of Auburn’s defense.
Part of the reason is simple: Fegans can line up just about anywhere. What began as a promising skill set is turning into a real asset for Auburn’s secondary, and the staff is expanding the ways it can use him.
“I feel comfortable and confident in each and every position that I play,” Fegans said. “I’ve always played each and every one of those positions, so it’s just really, I’m confident in all of them.”
Auburn safeties coach Tim Banks said Fegans has already spent time at star, field safety and boundary safety. During spring practice, he even took reps at cornerback.
That doesn’t necessarily mean cornerback is in the long-term plan, but it does show how far Auburn is willing to push his versatility. Banks has made that kind of multi-position flexibility a priority in the secondary.
Fegans also dealt with an injury early in preseason camp, which limited him at the start. He said he is “good to go now.”
So whether Auburn uses him as a regular piece on the back end or a movable chess piece across the secondary, Fegans sounds ready for whatever comes next.
In Other News...
Auburns New Era Is Already Turning Heads Across The SEC
Alex Golesh has barely settled into his new job at Auburn, but the early signs of his reset are already drawing attention around the SEC. After a stretch of instability that saw the Tigers cycle through six head coaches across a run of losing seasons, Golesh arrives with the kind of conference background that gives his voice some instant credibility, and he is wasting little time trying to change the feel of the program.
One of the clearest examples has come during fall camp, where players are staying together in a hotel as part of Goleshs effort to build a different culture. SEC analyst Paul Finebaum has already signaled support for the approach, seeing it as a positive step for a program trying to steady itself. For Auburn, the real test is still ahead, but the new staffs message is being noticed well beyond Tuscaloosa and the Plains. [Read more 🡒]
Kodi Burns Is Changing What Auburn Demands From Its Receivers
Kodi Burns is back at Auburn, and his message to the wide receiver room has been plain from the start of fall camp: catching passes is only part of the job. The new wideouts coach is pushing a more physical, versatile standard for a group that figures to be deep in Alex Goleshs offense, where keeping tempo means leaning on a heavy rotation and asking plenty of players to be ready for meaningful snaps.
For Auburn, the shift matters because the role of a receiver is becoming about more than route running and production on the stat sheet. Burns has already drawn praise from players like Keshaun Singleton and DeShawn Spencer, who say his impact has shown up in their development on and off the field, and the broader challenge now is clear - earn trust by doing the dirty work, adapt to multiple assignments, and prove you can stay on the field when the tempo starts picking up. [Read more 🡒]
Former Auburn Staffer Just Surfaced Inside Alabamas Program
A familiar football family is showing up around Alabamas practices, with Dave Wommack and Dominic Studzinski both spending time around the program. Dave Wommack, a retired defensive coordinator, has been around as a resource at practices and games, while Studzinski has been helping in the weight room even though he is not listed on the staff directory.
The connection runs deep, stretching back to their shared coaching days at Ole Miss in 2012 and 2013, when the same circle of personnel worked together in the South. For Auburn fans, the name attached to Studzinski may stand out even more because of where he worked before, making his quiet presence in Tuscaloosa the kind of detail that tends to get noticed long before it gets officially explained. [Read more 🡒]