We’re taking a look at each position group as Auburn prepares to open spring practice on Feb. 27. The ninth of an 11-part series looks at the cornerbacks.

Auburn’s defense was top-25 nationally against the pass last season, a clear strength for the Tigers in what was largely a down year and disappointing fall overall.

Now, as the program turns the page and prepares for the start of a new era under first-year coach Hugh Freeze, Auburn will do it while returning the full complement of its weapons in the secondary. That includes cornerback, where the Tigers got a welcome boost just before the start of the new year, when both starting corners Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James announced their decisions to return for a final season on the Plains.

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Those two will bolster a unit that ranked 23rd among FBS teams — and tied with national champion Georgia — in yards allowed per pass attempt (6.5) and was 25th in the nation in pass efficiency defense (121.34).

Projected depth chart:

— Cornerback: Nehemiah Pritchett, senior

J.D. Rhym, sophomore

— Cornerback: D.J. James, senior

Jaylin Simpson, senior

— Nickel: Keionte Scott, junior

Austin Ausberry, redshirt freshman

Departed: N/A

Due to arrive in the fall: four-star 2023 signee Tyler Scott, four-star 2023 signee Colton Hood, three-star 2023 signee JC Hart.

Outlook: Zac Etheridge was excited to be retained by Freeze back in December after the Tigers’ new coach took over the program, but the real music to his ears came once Pritchett and James informed him they planned to play one more season at Auburn.

With both of the Tigers’ starting corners locked in for 2023, it meant Etheridge’s defensive backs room wasn’t going to lose any pieces from last season, save for the midseason transfer of reserve cornerback A.D. Diamond (who wound up at UAB). Etheridge described that turn of events as a new feeling to him as a coach; it’s difficult to maintain the same personnel from year to year, particularly nowadays with the transfer portal and one-time transfer opportunity, but to do so when you also have a pair of potential NFL players in the room makes it even more noteworthy.

James made a name for himself in his first SEC season after transferring to Auburn from Oregon last year. The 5-foot-1, 174-pounder had 38 tackles, with 25 solo stops and one tackle for a loss, along with an interception that he returned for a touchdown against Western Kentucky. He also tied for the team lead with eight pass breakups while earning second-team All-SEC honors from the AP and the conference’s coaches. Pritchett, who took over as Auburn’s top corner last season — starting all 12 games — while following in the footsteps of Roger McCreary, finished the year with a career-high 37 tackles, including 4.5 for a loss, and eight pass breakups.

While returning both starters at cornerback is huge for Auburn, it’s the rest of the returning experience that makes this arguably the Tigers’ top position heading into the spring. Jaylin Simpson returns for his senior season with 35 career appearances, including 12 starts under his belt. Simpson started six games last season, including a handful at nickel late in the year, while posting 37 tackles, seven pass breakups and a pair of interceptions. J.D. Rhym, a former four-star 2022 signee, played in all 12 games and made one start as a freshman last fall while finishing with 14 tackles and a pass breakup.

Keionte Scott, a former junior college transfer, made starts at both nickel and safety last season. He finished with 53 tackles, including four for a loss and one sack, along with four pass breakups and an interception.

Auburn also returns redshirt freshman Austin Ausberry, who appeared in two games as a true freshman last season, and the program welcomes four-star cornerback Kayin Lee, an early enrollee, to the fold this spring. Lee, who flipped from Ohio State during the early signing period, is the second-highest rated signee in Auburn’s 2023 class and was rated as the nation’s No. 16 cornerback coming out of high school.

Up next: Safeties.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.