During spring practice, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze didn’t mince words when reporters asked him which position groups needed more help than others in development.

“I think the two positions that stand out to me right now of we just have a long way to go is the quarterback room and the wide receiver room,” Freeze told reporters. “Not saying we’ve arrived at other spots yet, but those are the farthest off because they’re probably the most — we ask them to do the most.”

Freeze and new receivers coach Marcus Davis inherited a receiver room without much proven talent. Ja’Varrious Johnson had 26 receptions with a team-leading 493 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Koy Moore was second on the team with 314 yards on 20 catches and scored a touchdown.

Johnson and Davis are the only returning receivers with 10 or more catches last season for an offense that was statistically one of the worst in college football at 117th in passing efficiency and 119th in passing yards per game.

Camden Brown showed promise as a freshman last season. He racked up nine catches and two touchdowns with 123 yards. The 6-foot-3 receiver from Tampa, FL exudes confidence in the receiver group, improving under offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery in a RPO-based offense.

“It goes back to the questions with how there’s all the hate on the receivers — right now, we’ve all gotta change the narrative,” Brown told reporters. “That’s what the main focus is right now. As with anything, we have to change the narrative with the quarterback, receiver, and O-line situations. We’ve all gotta change the narrative around everything. Changing the narrative is the main topic right now.”

Tar’Varish Dawson caught two passes for 30 yards last season in four games. He arrived at Auburn in the 2021 class with lots of promise as 4-star recruit. Dawson went through spring camp but entered the portal on April 15, when the spring window opened for transfers. He signed with Colorado despite showing potential as a speedy receiver with a 39-yard catch from Robby Ashford during the A-Day scrimmage.

Landen King was also part of the 2021 class and left the program after spring football. He converted from tight end to receiver but struggled to find consistency. This week, he announced he was headed to Utah.

Nick Mardner caught 19 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns at Cincinnati last season. He arrived on the Plains for spring football. A positive sign could be his success at Hawaii in 2021 with Davis as his receivers coach. Mardner had over 900 receiving yards and five touchdowns, with nearly 50 receptions working with Davis.

Auburn added former Ohio State wideout Caleb Burton. He didn’t get on the field at Ohio State as a freshman last season as the Buckeyes were loaded wide receiver groups. Burton is one of several receivers, including Omari Kelly, Jay Fair, Malcolm Johnson Jr, Daquayvious Sorey, and JC Hart, looking to become go-to receivers for the Tigers.

“Obviously, he was one of the top receivers in the country, went to Ohio State — that room is loaded there — so we base that off of his high school tape and we’re basically getting a freshman,” Freeze said. “T one made sense because his high school tape was pretty dang good.”

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.