Cam Coleman is different. Can he make Auburn's offense different?
The Tigers need to take a huge step forward with their passing attack. So far, it looks like the 5-star freshman can play a major part in that.
WR Cam Coleman (Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers)
For freshmen who enrolled early, spring practice is usually a time to get your feet wet.
Not literally, although a rainy Tuesday in Auburn soaked the practice fields. The weather cleared up just in time for an afternoon practice that kicked off the third full week of spring practices on the Plains.
Metaphorically, freshmen who should be finishing their last semester of high school instead of getting a head start on college are just supposed to play catch-up in the spring. By going through several weeks of practices, they’ll be ready to really make a move for playing time when things get serious in fall camp.
“It doesn't matter how good you are, it's going to be tough early,” quarterback Payton Thorne said earlier this month.
That’s how it normally goes.
But on Tuesday afternoon, when quarterbacks lined up to spray passes all over the offensive field, Cam Coleman was the first wide receiver to line up on the outside.
Even on a roster that has a half-dozen older wideouts, Coleman has already emerged as a regular with the first-team offense. And Tuesday’s work with the 1s wasn’t a first-time thing, either — he started doing that last week.
From the first time he stepped out onto the practice field, Coleman has stood out. He’s listed at 6-foot-3 but looks even bigger, especially when he’s standing next to the rest of Auburn’s wide receivers.
The skill set is impossible to overlook, too. Coleman has showcased top-tier hands, fluid movement and an impressive catch radius to anybody watching. He arrived at Auburn as the highest-rated offensive signee in program history and a top-five overall prospect in the Class of 2024. So far, he looks the part.
During a media viewing window Tuesday afternoon, Coleman quickly flipped his hips and snagged a one-handed catch on a ball from Thorne that was slightly behind him. Here’s a video, courtesy of friend of the newsletter Christian Clemente:
“Cam Coleman just makes us look different,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said a few weeks ago. “Can’t tell you how excited I am about him. I don’t want to put too much expectations on him as a freshman — because he is just a freshman. … But man, when you watch him run around out there, we’ve improved ourselves. He’s naturally gifted.”
Coleman is a key piece of Freeze’s rebuilding efforts on the Plains. The Tigers have opted to put a greater emphasis on high school recruiting than leaning heavily on the transfer portal.
It’s a slower process in this day and age of college football, but Freeze and his staff believe that it’s a more sustainable route that can give the program the highest possible ceiling.
“I know you guys don’t want to hear it, but we’re still in the early stages of building this program,” Freeze said. “Particularly the way we’re choosing to build it, hopefully through high school.”
During Freeze’s most successful seasons at Ole Miss, he recruited and developed highly touted wide receivers who smashed program records before going on to the NFL. Auburn doesn’t have much of a history at the receiver position, as the program’s career record-holder in yardage and touchdowns is still the late Terry Beasley.
Coleman, along with fellow 5-star Perry Thompson and 4-stars Bryce Cain and Malcolm Simmons, represent an attempt to push Auburn into uncharted territory when it comes to that position and the offense as a whole. (Thompson and Simmons will arrive at Auburn in the summer.)
Auburn’s top returning wide receiver is Jay Fair, a slot guy who had 324 yards and two touchdowns in 2023. There were 38 different wideouts in the SEC who had more yards last season. The Tigers haven’t had a 500-yard receiver since 2021.
But spring practice is the time for renewed hope and big dreams.