Ryan William and Jeremiah Smith are two sophomore wide receivers that have taken the college world by storm.

From the duo gracing the cover of EA Sports College Football 26 and Smith winning the National Championship with Ohio State as a freshman. It’s hard not to rank them high in the top college wide outs list.

For Auburn football, they have a sophomore of its own who ranked higher than Williams coming out of high school and the No. 2 wide receiver in the nation behind Smith.

Cam Coleman is the second highest rated recruit in Auburn history. While battling with a shoulder injury throughout his freshman season, Coleman was still named to the SEC All-Freshman team.

Finishing with 37 catches, 598 yards and eight touchdowns, tying for the second-most receiving touchdowns in the SEC. It’s fair to predict a massive leap for the Tigers franchise player in his second season.

But how does the rest of the Southeastern conference view Coleman?

During the week of SEC media days, Al.com performed a survey asking opponents about matching up against Coleman.

The results were endless.

What makes Cam Coleman a great player?

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound outside threat possesses explosive quickness off the line of scrimmage. His quick instincts allow for smooth in and out of breaks at the top of his routes.

Oklahoma defensive back Robert Spears-Jennings called Coleman one of the hardest receivers to guard because of his elite route running.

“He is very fast and very explosive. He runs routes like a short slot but he’s almost 6′4,” Spears-Jennings said. “He’s probably one of the hardest receivers in the conference to guard.”

Missouri Safety Daylan Carnell immediately recalled Coleman’s 47-yard touchdown last season against the Tigers secondary when asked about Coleman.

“Cam Coleman is a real big athletic receiver,” Carnell said. “He’s a freak of nature. He had a long touchdown on us and hopefully we’ll be more prepared this year. That will be a great matchup for us.”

Texas A&M corner Will Lee III did not finish last year’s game at Auburn after suffering an injury. However, he did not shy away from giving Coleman his flowers.

“It was a great matchup and with him being just a freshman we treated him like he was a four-year player,” Lee said. “He’s a great receiver with incredible talent. We knew what came with that matchup that night.”

How do you defend Cam Coleman?

Aside from Coleman’s size and strength, his leaping ability to pinpoint the football should not go unnoticed.

Last season Tiger fans saw his ability to attack the football in contested areas. Among the top receivers in the country, Coleman has some of the best jump ball ability of any player in the country.

Kentucky cornerback Jordan Lovett broke down what he saw in Coleman’s film to prepare for their matchup last year in Lexington.

“Auburn was more of a cross-country type of receiving group. We had to run a lot of zone concepts,” Lovett said. “When watching the film on Cam, I noticed he had really good ball skills. So, I was playing hip to pocket on him mostly.”

Coleman’s best game last season came against Texas A&M, finishing with 128 yards on 7 catches. His two touchdowns went for 15 and 63 yards as he averaged 18.3 yards a catch.

“Cam is an extremely talented kid,” Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said. “I think they got a lot of weapons, and they went out and got a quarterback over the offseason.”

“Hugh does a really good with that offense and that’s going to be another challenging matchup for us this year.”

Can Cam Coleman become the best wide receiver in College Football?

When it comes to ranking the best wide receivers in the SEC everyone’s lists are different.

13-year NFL veteran and current SEC Network Analyst Randall Cobb shared his list of the top SEC receivers with Al.com Thursday afternoon.

His top guy was a familiar name from the other side of the Iron Bowl.

“I mean Ryan Williams is at the top of that list,” Cobb said. “He’s in his own stratosphere and no one is doing it like him right now.”

When talking about Coleman, Cobb believes for him to be at the top of college football Auburn has to use him effectively.

“He has to get the ball a little more. If that happens, we’ll be able to see his unreal talent,” Cobb added. “I think having Jackson Arnold now will allow for more opportunities to come his way.”

No matter where you rank Coleman, he’s the future of Auburn’s program. A massive year in 2025 will only justify what Tiger fans have seen since day one.

Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports forAL.com. You can follow him on X at @Jerryhump3or email him at [email protected].