Auburn Tigers WR Cam Coleman Living Up to Considerable Hype

Auburn Tigers freshman-phenom Cam Coleman still has a lot to prove, but he's off to a good start.

Auburn Tigers wide receiver Cam Coleman is impressing teammates in his first fall camp on the Plains. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

For all the hyperbole which has surrounded the recent triumphs of the Auburn Tigers during the recruitment process, when push comes to shove, the most-recent crop of recruits needs to deliver.

On that particular front, it's not like the Tigers are exactly scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as talent goes.

Of course, wide receiver Cam Coleman is a name that constantly gets mentioned in dispatches, especially when Tigers fans chew the fat over potential breakout stars in 2024.

Tigers junior cornerback Champ Anthony has boots on the ground knowledge of his explosive pass catching teammate; the pair have constantly been going toe-to-toe in practice.

The defender is well-versed on how Coleman can win his battles, and he also pinpointed the work the young pass catcher has put into refining his route running during the offseason.

"50/50 balls? It's really 60/40, 70/30 with him," Anthony told reporters on Monday. "Cam Coleman, really from the spring, I feel like he's gotten better, mostly on his routes. He's been in and out of his breaks a lot more. Now that he sees the tempo in college football, he's in and out of his breaks a lot more.

"But 50/50 balls? That's Cam Coleman right there."

oh my word Cameron Coleman. pic.twitter.com/LC6m0HNTZn

— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) August 3, 2024

Practice is clearly a formidable challenge for Anthony, on the flipside, quarterback Payton Thorne is the man who stands to profit the most from Coleman's prowess at high-pointing the football in traffic.

Coleman made some important strides forward during the spring months as Anthony documented, so it was also especially noteworthy that during the SEC Media Days, Thorne stated that his guys were coming down with the ball..

"There is a lot more confidence right now," Thorne said at the media get together. "I trust the guys that are out there. They're making plays on the ball and ultimately it comes down to actually doing it. You have to do it in practice before all of a sudden you get trust in the game."

Also working away in the background, Coach Freeze has been desperate to turn the page on the struggles the Tigers experienced last year - particularly in the previously lackluster passing game. Much of the approach Freeze has taken has been to look forward, all whilst putting the burden of blame squarely onto his own back.

Dovetailing with his own stoic selflessness has been a determination to closely manage the burgeoning expectations for Coleman, after all, we all know how too much hype can send prodigious youngsters a little sideways.

That's all very relevant, but sooner or later, the expectation is that Freeze will simply slam his foot down on the accelerator.