Auburn Tigers Jerrin Thompson Preparing Younger Players for Future

The Auburn Tigers defense has not played up to its standard this year, but the veteran safety is helping lay the groundwork for what's next

The veteran safety has acknowledge the Auburn defense is not playing to the level it should, but the future will be ready / John Reed-Imagn Images

The Auburn Tigers' defense has had its moments this season but ultimately is not performing at the level it had hoped. 

The Tigers have forced six turnovers this season, four interceptions and two turnovers, placing them at 107th in . They are 46th in FBS in yards allowed per game with 339.9.

In Auburn’s 21-17 road loss to Missouri, its defense allowed a 95-yard drive late in the game that resulted in the go-ahead touchdown being put on the board.

Veteran safety Jerrin Thompson, who spent four seasons with Texas before joining Auburn via the transfer portal this offseason, believes his team was capable of preventing Missouri from scoring on that drive.

“That was a long drive, but the type of defense we say we are, we expect we should embrace drives like that,” Thompson said. “It was probably our worst drive of the game. It wasn’t our night, we weren’t urgent enough. We gotta be more urgent. We just didn’t have a lot of want to on that drive.”

Sitting at 2-5 with no wins in conference play, it is safe to say that Auburn has underperformed expectations this season. In a disappointing season like this one, it is not uncommon for teams to fall apart down the stretch.

Even though he will not be a part of the roster for seasons to follow, Thompson has been encouraging the young members of Auburn’s defense who are seeing the field early in their college careers to remain focused.

“The little things matter and they go such a long way,” Thompson said. “We’re in these games. We’ve just got to figure out how to finish. We got great players, great scheme, great coaching. It’s all just us laying it out there and finishing the games.”

Thompson and the Tigers will once again try to pick up their first SEC win against the Kentucky Wildcats on the road on Saturday. Kick off is set for 6:45 p.m. CT and SEC Network will have the television broadcast.