Auburn is about to get back to work, and the biggest questions are already lined up as fall camp opens next week. With the season opener against Baylor just over a month away, Alex Golesh and his staff still have plenty to sort through, from the backup running back race to key defensive battles and the push to lock in a starting lineup.
One of the clearest fights to watch is the one behind Jeremiah Cobb. The RB2 spot is wide open enough to draw real attention, and the names in the mix give Auburn some interesting options.
Zac Blackerby pointed to Omar Mabson as a player he has liked since Mabson reclassified and arrived on campus a year early. Blackerby noted that Mabson took the most number two snaps at A Day, while also highlighting Bryson Washington, who was elite at Baylor, and Nykahi Davenport, who already operated in this system.
Christian Rauh saw Washington as the player who seemed to have the job to lose heading into the offseason, and said Golesh’s comments to the media may have backed that up. Still, Rauh said Mabson may have the edge for now. He also suggested this could become one of the deepest running back rooms in the country if all three are truly battling for the second spot behind Cobb.
Before Week 1 arrives, the staff also zeroed in on what Golesh has to get done. Blackerby kept it simple: Auburn needs a healthy roster and an offense that’s ready to roll.
Rauh agreed that health is the biggest concern, especially with questions still hanging over depth at several spots. But he added another priority: no second guessing. In his view, Golesh and the staff need to know exactly who the starters are by the Baylor game instead of treating it like an audition.
As for the position groups generating the most buzz heading into camp, Blackerby wants to see what happens at edge. He’s especially interested in the rotation behind Jared Smith and Da’Shawn Womack, and said Auburn needs Chris Murray to come out of fall camp as a winner too.
Rauh is looking at the secondary, where there are plenty of names capable of making an impact but far less certainty about who lines up where. For him, that’s the most fascinating group on the roster to track as camp unfolds.
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