Why Champ Anthony is exactly who Auburn should be sending to SEC Media Days
The veteran will have the fewest career snaps of any Tiger at SECMD in more than a decade. But the spotlight is well-deserved.
AUBURN — When SEC Media Days kicks off next week in Tampa, some of the biggest stars in college football will be there to represent their schools.
More than half of the conference’s teams are sending their starting quarterbacks, like Texas’ Arch Manning, Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss, Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed and Georgia’s Gunner Stockton. Auburn is getting in on that action, too, with Byrum Brown returning to his old stomping grounds alongside head coach Alex Golesh.
There are others on the attendee list that are among the most well-known players at their respective positions. Ole Miss’ Kewan Lacy and Florida’s Jaden Baugh were two of the SEC’s top three running backs last season. Texas’ Colin Simmons and LSU’s Whit Weeks are household names on defense. Alabama’s Ryan Coleman-Williams, no stranger to Auburn fans, was a video game cover athlete last year.
One of the players joining Brown and Golesh in Tampa will be Auburn kicker Alex McPherson, the younger brother of an NFL starter and a former top-ranked recruit at his position who has now become a well-known story across college football for his remarkable battle through a disease that could have easily ended his career.
Sending Brown to Media Days was a no-brainer, as he’s the face of the new era for Auburn football after being one of the best quarterbacks in the country last season.
Sending McPherson to Media Days was also an easy call, considering his incredible story of perseverance and the fact he could end up in the NFL as early as next year.
But then there’s Champ Anthony.
When Auburn announced Anthony as a player representative for SEC Media Days on Tuesday morning, that might have come as a surprise to some.
Fans probably expected someone like All-American linebacker Xavier Atkins — although the junior hasn’t done many interviews since he got to Auburn — or standout kick returner Rayshawn Pleasant, as they’re getting plenty of all-conference love this offseason.
There might have also been predictions for the likes of another veteran transfer such as center Cole Best, defensive tackle Cody Sigler, edge rusher Da’Shawn Womack or any of the new wide receivers from USF. They all got plenty of buzz during spring practices for what they were bringing to the Plains.
Instead, Auburn is sending a defensive back who wasn’t able to do much during spring practices. It’s honestly unclear what his role might look like in the secondary this fall, considering the depth the Tigers have there right now.
In fact, Anthony has spent a total of three seasons at Auburn and has only totaled 403 snaps on the defensive side of the ball, per Pro Football Focus. To put that number into perspective, Auburn had 20 different players exceed that snap count in the 2025 season alone.
If you add up the career snap counts of all the offensive and defensive players that Auburn has sent to SEC Media Days in the last decade — specialists like McPherson are an obvious exception — Anthony has played the least amount of college football.
Anthony is set to have the fewest career snaps of any SEC Media Day representative for Auburn since Jeremy Johnson went in 2015. While Johnson didn’t have the season that anyone expected that fall, the logic was sound: He stood out when backing up Nick Marshall in 2013 and 2014 and was going to be the star quarterback.
But why is Anthony going to Tampa next week? Why is Auburn sending a player who hasn’t played 200 snaps in any of his previous three seasons with the program? Why did the Tigers buck the trend of the biggest names going to Media Days?
Because Anthony means a ton to Auburn football — and he deserves this platform.