Few Auburn players were talked about during the preseason more than Chaney Johnson. Against Houston, he showed why.

Despite not starting, he finished with 13 points and nine rebounds in 16 minutes in Auburn’s season-opening win over Vermont.

“Chaney was a monster inside. Just a beast,” Bruce Pearl said after the game. “Chaney Johnson is our hardest worker. I just love seeing one of your hardest workers get rewarded like that.”

Johnson gives Auburn a different look compared to the two-center lineup it started with against Vermont. At 6-foot-7, 225 pounds, his versatility is a slight contrast to Dylan Cardwell and Johni Broome. With Jaylin Williams gone, Johnson was the most comparable player left on the roster to fill his role going into this season.

To do that, though, he needed to change his body.

Johnson said he gained close to 20 pounds over the offseason, something he claimed was one of his three goals for the summer along with getting faster and preventing knee injuries.

“I definitely feel a lot more physically stronger, a lot quicker,” Johnson told reporters Thursday. “It‘s just a testament to the work I’ve put in, a testament to Coach D. He really pushed us, and if you take the weight room serious, you’ll really see gains from it.”

The work paid off and it didn’t take long for Pearl to take notice.

“So when we watched Chaney, from a year ago — back early, like November, December, early January — it’s like, ‘Who’s that skinny kid, right?’“ Pearl said. ”And then you watch him now, and obviously he’s done a great job with coach Damon Davis and getting his body so powerful.”

Johnson‘s 13 points against Vermont were the third-most in a game in his Auburn career. He was also used on 26.6% of Auburn’s possessions against Vermont, according to KenPom, the fourth most on the team.

While it‘s only one game, 26.6% is a 10.2% jump from his usage rate last season. His 16.4% usage rate during the 2024-2025 season was the third lowest on the team of the players KenPom tracked.

It‘s unclear what to make of that this early in the season, but it‘s an indication of what his potential can be now in his second year with the program. It‘s unlikely that he’ll fill the exact role previously held by Jaylin Williams, but his development keeps Auburn versatile at the four and five positions, giving relief to Broome and Cardwell.

“For us to be the best team we want to be, we need Chaney to play with his confidence,” Broome said, “and we’ll be just fine.”

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m