State of the Position 2024: Cornerbacks
Auburn has been on a nice heater at corner over the last decade, and the Tigers could keep that rolling — even with a pair of big departures.
This is Part 7 of a 10-part Auburn football 2024 season preview series that we’re calling “State of the Position.” It’s a breakdown of the past, present and future of each group on the Tigers’ roster as they look to end their streak of losing seasons and take a significant step forward this fall.
The goal is to run a pair of these each week. On Monday and Tuesday this week, we’ll do the Auburn secondary.
STATE OF THE POSITION: QB • WR • LB • EDGE • RB • TE
DB Keionte Scott (Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers)
The Past
As a program, Auburn has been on a nice heater when it comes to the cornerback position.
Earlier this year, Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James were both drafted by the Seattle Seahawks. They became the seventh and eighth Auburn corners drafted in the last nine years, joining Roger McCreary, Noah Igbinoghene, Jamel Dean, Carlton Davis, Josh Holsey and Blake Countess. (And Jonathan Jones, one of the most successful Auburn products in the pros right now, was a UDFA.)
Before that, Auburn had only produced four NFL draftees at cornerback in the previous 10 years. While the Tigers have gone through mixed overall results on the field in the last decade, they’ve turned into a mini factory for corners — which has spanned several head coaches, position coaches and defensive coordinators.
The 2023 season was a solid one overall for Auburn’s pass defense, which was led by the experienced cornerback tandem of James and Pritchett on the outside.
The Tigers weren’t able to hit the same statistical marks from the 2022 season, but they still finished in the top half of the SEC in passing yards allowed per attempt, opponent quarterback rating, interceptions and passing touchdowns allowed. Only Georgia’s defense allowed a lower completion percentage in the league.
Even with Pritchett missing the first three games of the season due to injury, Auburn got off to a strong start against the pass in non-conference play. Kayin Lee became the first true freshman to play a key role at cornerback for the Tigers since eventual Thorpe Award winner Carlos Rogers. Keionte Scott established himself as Auburn’s top option at the nickel position when healthy.
The middle of the season was much rougher for the Tigers, as Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss all put up big efficiency numbers through the air. (Scott was injured during this stretch.) Auburn course-corrected in the second half of the season, returning to decent form — even in the string of tough losses to finish the campaign.
James finished the season as one of the highest-graded coverage corners in the SEC, proving to be a nice find in the transfer portal by the previous coaching staff. Pritchett had arguably his best season since his breakout 2020 campaign, setting the course for him to be a draftable prospect after five years on the Plains.
Lee recorded more than 300 defensive snaps as a true freshman, which was by far the most for an Auburn cornerback since Davis was a Freshman All-American in 2015.
But Auburn didn’t play a lot of cornerbacks behind that top four. Champ Anthony had 81 defensive snaps in 2023. J.D. Rhym played in four games in a year that featured off-the-field issues. (Rhym later left Auburn.) A massive true freshman class of defensive backs didn’t get much playing time outside of Lee, with the Tigers opting to lean on the much more experienced players for heavy usage.
The offseason turned into one of great change for Auburn’s secondary, with James and Pritchett heading to the NFL alongside veteran safeties Jaylin Simpson and Zion Puckett. Secondary coach Zac Etheridge — who was one of just two holdovers from the previous staff — later resigned and left for a job at Houston.
Wesley McGriff, the multi-time Auburn defensive backs assistant who was moved from on-field duties during the 2023 season, originally left for a job at Texas A&M. Auburn was able to bring him back after Etheridge’s departure, and he’s now in charge of the cornerbacks, as the Tigers hired Charles Kelly to be the safeties coach.
McGriff will oversee a reset of sorts at the cornerback position in 2024. But it won’t be a complete overhaul.
DB Kayin Lee (Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers)