Auburn Podcaster believes a young Auburn Tiger has a ton of upside

This Auburn Tigers has a ton of upside.

The Auburn Tigers didn't do as much in the transfer portal as many would have imagined.

Last cycle, the Auburn Tigers brought in a boatload of players via the portal to try and fix the roster, but in this cycle, they only brought in nine guys. The thought behind this is that Coach Hugh Freeze feels good about the players currently on the roster, including some of the young guys. 

One of the young guys could be Darron Reed Jr., who was ranked as the 188th best player in the 2023 recruiting rankings according to 247Sports Composite Rankings. He saw action in the Tigers' bowl game against Maryland, but that was it during his freshman season. The question is, could Reed Jr. step into a much larger role in 2024? 

On the Locked On Auburn Podcast, host Zac Blackerby talks about Darron Reed Jr. while ranking players from the 2023 class who will have a significant impact next season. Blackerby had this to say about Reed Jr, "Once again, this is why Keldric Faulk was so high is because there needs to be dudes on this defensive line who step up. I think Trill Carter and Gage Keys were brought in to be pieces. I don't think they were brought in to be the dude. Whether I'm talking to Jayson Jones on this show. Or last week in Mobile I'm talking to Marcus Harris. I think Even Hank Brown shouted him out on this show. A lot of people are bringing up Darron Reed Jr. It kind of surprises me every time. Darron Reed Jr., when you look at the rankings in this class, was the fourth highest rated player in this class. We've talked before about it seems like this staff made the decision to stay young on the defensive line because they were pursuing other dudes in the portal, but they went with Gage Keys and Trill Carter. I think they believe in Darron Reed Jr. I think part of their decision to do that was because they saw the potential upside with Darron Reed Jr. He's a guy I haven't talked about a ton or heard a whole lot about from the media. But we are hearing about him from the players, and I think that matters." 

With Auburn needing some of the young guys on the roster to step up, Reed Jr. can be a guy who surprises some folks this season. He was highly ranked out of high school and will have an opportunity to show why this season for DJ Durkin's defense.