Auburn Tigers Football Preview: Wide Receivers, It's a Whole New Crew

With a host of new options and a freshman phenom, the Auburn Tigers are looking to fly high in 2024.

Auburn Tigers wide receiver Cam Coleman is one of the most talented freshmen in the country. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY

This is Part 4 of a nine-part series looking at the Auburn Tigers position-by-position ahead of 2024 preseason practice.

Tight Ends
Running Backs
Quarterbacks

There hasn’t been this much excitement about the future at receiver since Tommy Tuberville brought in Devin Aromashodu, Ben Obomanu, Anthony Mix and Courtney Taylor in 2002.

Receivers (2023 Stats)

Caleb Burton, So., Returning Backup (16 Rec., 226 yards)

Camden Brown, Jr., Returning Backup (10 Rec., 105 yards)

KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Sr., Transfer from Penn State, Arrived during summer (53. Rec., 673 yards, 4 TD)

Robert Lewis, Sr., Transfer from Georgia State, Arrived in December (70 Rec., 877 yards, 7 TD)

Sam Jackson V Jr., Transferred from Cal, Arrived in December (556 Yards Passing, 5 TD, 2 Int., 26 Rushes, 59 yards, 1 TD)

Cam Coleman, TFr., Arrived in December

Bryce Cain, TFr., Arrived in December

Perry Thompson, TFr., Arriving during summer

Malcolm Simmons, TFr., Arriving during summer

Departures: JaVarius Johnson transferred to UCF; Jay Fair transferred to USC; Malcolm Johnson Jr. transferred to Bowling Green, Omari Kelly transferred to MTSU, Koy Moore entered transfer portal, Shane Hooks exhausted eligibility, Nick Mardner exhausted eligibility, Jyaire Shorter exhausted eligibility.

Strengths: Top line talent, experienced transfers

Weakness: Youth, time spent in system

Receivers’ Coach Marcus Davis’ room did almost a complete overhaul in the off season, bringing in a pair of proven transfers and also the No. 1-rated class of receivers in the country, while only bringing back two reserves from the 2023 roster.

Cam Coleman (6-3, 197), a long and rangy wideout from nearby Central-Phenix City High School, was the headliner of the recruiting class, and he showed in the spring game why he was a 5-star and one of the top 10 prospects in the country. He has great hands, the speed to make big plays, and he also has the innate ability to play the ball in the air and come down with it over defensive backs.

Coleman, along with transfers KeAndre Lambert-Smith (6-1, 182) and Robert Lewis (5-10, 188) are the likely favorites to start heading into fall camp (along with Rivaldo Fairweather, who often splits out wide even though he’s labeled a tight end).

There’s a good bit of excitement about the arrival of Lambert-Smith, a guy who has 126 career receptions for 1,721 yards and 11 touchdowns playing at Penn State. Six of those receptions have been in two games against Auburn. His top career game from a yardage standpoint was in the Rose Bowl versus Utah at the end of the 2022 season, when he had three catches for 124 yards and a score. Lambert-Smith has had a steady career and is a potential NFL talent.

Lewis, who had a great spring, is another veteran trying to prove that he can get it done in the SEC. He put up modest numbers early in his career at Georgia State, but had a breakout season in 2023. Sam Jackson V (5-10, 187), who started at quarterback for Cal versus Auburn last year, is a shifty and elusive player making the move to receiver at Auburn. He actually went to high school with Payton Thorne at Naperville Central in Illinois.

The three other freshmen receivers are going to be counted on for production. 4-star prospect Perry Thompson (6-3, 222) arrived at Auburn from Foley this summer and is going to have an opportunity to make an early impact, if nothing else because of his size and athletic ability. He’s put together like a college senior, and his progress through August will be one to keep up with as he fights his way into the lineup to potentially become a play-maker as a true freshman.

Bryce Cain (5-10, 150) and Malcolm Simmons (6-0, 179), also in-state products, don’t have the size of Coleman and Thompson, but there are high expectations on them to develop into NFL-caliber players by the time they are done on The Plains. Both were four-star recruits and in the top 300 by all of the recruiting services. Both are fast, elusive, and can jump.

Also expected to be in the rotation week to week at wideout are returnees Caleb Burton (5-11, 174) and Camden Brown (6-3, 200). Burton is a second-year transfer from Ohio State, and he proved last year to be a gifted route runner and a sure-handed target. Brown has been in the rotation for the last two seasons, but he needs to be more consistent.

Auburn’s passing game in 2023 was abysmal, and a large part of that was the talent on the field at receiver. There was little variety in the passing game. Hugh Freeze was vocal during the season that he wasn’t happy with the play-calling, particularly the lack of RPOs. The receiver screen game was non-existent, as there simply weren’t the athletes to make it happen.

This year Auburn’s receivers have a chance to be more athletic than the opposing defensive backs week to week, giving Freeze and first-year offensive coordinator Derrick Nix an opportunity to do more in the pass game than just straight drop backs.

Chances are, several of the receivers on this roster will one day play in the NFL, but the success of the unit is going to depend on a number of moving parts. Thorne didn’t play well enough for Auburn to win a few games last year, both offensive tackle spots are question marks heading into August because of either newcomers or inconsistent pass blocking a season ago.

QB-WR chemistry is also a big thing that matters. Auburn’s schedule sets up well to ease into the competition with five home games to start the season that will likely be progressively more difficult for the most part. There’s little experience between the quarterbacks and receivers at this point, so the offensive staff has its work cut out for them finding schemes that can let the talent at wideout win the play for the offense.

As Freeze and staff continue to bring in more talent on the roster, the stud receivers brought in will have a chance to shine. Whether that happens in 2024 is to be determined.