Champ Anthony may end up being Auburn’s most useful puzzle piece on defense when fall camp opens this week.
That’s the question hanging over the Tigers’ secondary as Alex Golesh and returning defensive coordinator DJ Durkin sort out the depth chart at corner and safety. Anthony is back in the mix after appearing at SEC Media Days in Tampa, Florida, earlier this month, and his role remains one of the biggest unknowns heading toward Week 1 against the Baylor Bears.
The veteran defensive back has been a steady presence for Auburn across the past few seasons, even through the coaching change. He has spent time at corner, safety and nickel on the Plains, and that kind of flexibility has long been one of his best traits. It also makes him harder to pin down now.
His spring was interrupted by injury, which only added to the uncertainty. Still, the absence didn’t seem to move him out of the coaching staff’s plans.
If anything, Auburn’s decision to send him to Tampa suggested just how much trust they have in him. He is viewed as one of the team’s leaders, and that points to a meaningful spot in Durkin’s defense once the season gets rolling.
There’s also a case to be made that Auburn doesn’t need to lock Anthony into one spot at all. With younger defensive backs getting valuable reps while he was sidelined, his ability to move around the secondary could be even more important this fall.
The corner room has several players pushing for bigger opportunities, including Rayshawn Pleasant, Andre Jordan Jr. and Gavin Jenkins. The safeties are in a similar spot. That crowded picture makes Anthony’s versatility even more valuable, and it may be that his first stop is at corner, especially with players like Pleasant carrying major special teams responsibilities.
However it shakes out, the answer is coming soon. Auburn begins fall camp this week, with more than a month still to go before opening kickoff.
In Other News...
Auburns New Camp Crackdown Shows How Serious Alex Golesh Is
Alex Golesh is making a clear statement about how he wants camp to look in Auburn, shifting the football teams routine during a stretch he views as critical for building habits and tightening the standard. The move comes after a turbulent offseason that already included a player arrest and a dismissal, and it arrives as several players have also been working through injuries in fall camp.
The point is less about scenery than control, with Golesh putting discipline and team culture front and center as the Tigers try to get sharpened before the season moves any closer. For a program trying to steady itself, the message is simple enough: the next couple of weeks are about football, focus and not much else. [Read more 🡒]
DJ Durkin Reveals What Working With Alex Golesh Means For Auburn
DJ Durkin is back for his third fall camp at Auburn, and this one carries a different feel. For the first time, he is working under new head coach Alex Golesh, after choosing to stay on as defensive coordinator when Golesh was hired, a move that helped Auburn keep its defensive roster intact and gave the program some continuity heading into the next phase.
The timing matters because Auburns defense just turned in its best year under Durkin since 2015, allowing 20.1 points per game in 2025. As the Tigers prepare for the 2026 fall camp, the challenge is no longer just preserving what was built, but seeing how Durkin and Golesh mesh while trying to keep the defense on that same track. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Opens Fall Camp With Early Injury Concerns Fans Will Feel Fast
Fall camp opened with the kind of update no team wants to hear in August, as Alex Golesh began laying out Auburns injury picture before the first practices could really settle in. The Tigers are already working around a few banged-up players, but there is some short-term optimism in the group, with Shamar Arnoux and AnQuon Fagans both considered day-to-day and several others expected to work back in by the end of camp.
The more pressing concern is up front and in the secondary, where the numbers can thin out fast if absences linger. Auburn will have to manage the early weeks without Tai Buster for a significant stretch, and Devin Williams is already lost for the year after a knee injury, leaving the staff to sort through depth and availability while the rest of camp unfolds. [Read more 🡒]