Whose stock rose the most during Auburn football fall camp?

Here are 10 Tigers who made the most of their preseason opportunities — and could be in line to play serious roles in Week 1.

BUCK Keyron Crawford (all photos by Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers)

Monday morning means two big things for Auburn football: First, school is officially back in session, with classes getting underway at the university.

Second, fall camp is in the rearview mirror, and the Tigers are entering a dress rehearsal of their usual game week, with the opener against Alabama A&M coming up in a dozen days.

One of the biggest themes of the second fall camp under Hugh Freeze was “familiarity.” We had a pretty good idea of who would be the key names on both sides of the ball, and it wouldn’t be remotely difficult to come up with a list of offensive and defensive starters heading into practices. That, for the most part, has held up.

But the return to the practice field always means there are opportunities for players to take a big step forward in their development and seriously challenge for more snaps. That was definitely the case over the last couple of weeks, even with the greater sense of stability on the roster.

After a massive amount of practice observation windows — including an entire scrimmage — and interview opportunities, let’s go back and look at the names who jumped out to us the most from where we expected them at the start of fall camp.

Here are 10 Tigers who saw their stocks soar in practices. Of course, expected star players such as Cam Coleman and Keldric Faulk aren’t on here. Instead, this is the group that changed our opinions the most as we head into the start of the 2024 season.

Some could emerge as starters. Others will be firmly in their position group’s rotation. These are the names you need to know as Auburn looks to take a significant step forward on the field over the next several months.

BUCK Keyron Crawford

After finishing tied for eighth in the SEC last season in sacks per game (2.39) — and knowing that it was going to have to replace most of its starting secondary — Auburn wanted to beef up its pass rush this offseason. Getting Crawford, a relatively new football player who had one standout season at Arkansas State, felt like a lottery ticket. At the very least, he could provide insurance behind Jalen McLeod.

Crawford turned heads from the very start of fall camp, impressing with his advanced pass-rushing skill set and imposing frame. (His very first snap at Jordan-Hare Stadium, during the opening scrimmage, was a sack.) McLeod said Crawford was already better at getting to the quarterback than him. Other teammates raved about his quick twitch and long-arm ability. Edges coach Josh Aldridge said he feels like he has one of the best young pass-rushers around.