Previewing Auburn football’s BUCK linebackers for the 2024 season
With just four BUCK linebackers listed on Auburn’s roster, it makes for a room that’s small, but on track to be mighty.
In his first season at Auburn, McLeod appeared in 12 games and made 11 starts after missing the first game of the year with dinged up ankle. He went on to record 48 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
And he did all of that while nursing injuries, says Auburn defensive edge coach Josh Aldridge.
“I don’t think people understand how banged up we was the entire season,” Aldridge said of McLeod. “You watch him play against Georgia and he looked awesome. And they’ve got the best O-line in the country. As the year went on, he got more healthy and made more plays.”
In Auburn’s narrow loss to Georgia, McLeod tallied four tackles.
Later in the year at Arkansas, McLeod put together a nine-tackle performance, followed by a seven-tackle effort in the Iron Bowl.
Now, McLeod is prepared to build on his first year in the SEC — and he’s looking forward to doing it while healthy.
“It’s huge because last year I got hurt and right now I’m on the right path with weight wise and everything,” McLeod told reporters in early August. “It’d be huge and give me a huge advantage to maintain my weight and keep going.”
Joining McLeod in Auburn’s room of hybrid linebackers are a trio of new faces in Arkansas State transfer Keyron Crawford, freshman Joe Phillips and freshman Jamonta Waller.
“We needed more pass-rushers, and he was probably the best pass-rusher in the portal, in my opinion — and I’m not just saying that just because we got him,” Aldridge said of Crawford. “But I thought he was the best pass-rusher in the portal.”
In his two seasons at Arkansas State, Crawford tallied 7.5 sacks for a loss of 47 yards, with a bulk of them coming during his six-sack season last fall. Crawford also logged 11.5 tackles for a loss in 2023.
“He’s probably a better pass-rusher than me in my opinion,” McLeod said of Crawford. “He’s got a bag that’s different. He’s got a good get-off. He’s the prototype. Got the size and his size shows on the field, too. He’s so strong.”
Shoring up Auburn’s room of BUCK linebackers are a pair of former four-star prospects in true freshmen Joe Phillips and Jamonta Waller.
After enrolling early and going through spring camp, Phillips is the most improved in the BUCK room, Aldridge says.
“He’s the most improved player in our room, by far,” Aldridge said of Phillips. “He’s got a similar story to Keyron: Really only one full year of high school football, lot of learning to do, but ultra-powerful. He changed his body. He’s, like, 252 pounds now. He’s gonna be a special one down the road as well.”
Then there’s Waller, who Auburn flipped away from Florida last November.
Rated the No. 2 prospect from the state of Mississippi in the 2024 class, Waller can also be compared to Crawford, Aldridge says.
“Jamonta is probably like a younger version of Keyron, where he’s a talented pass-rusher,” Aldridge said. “Jamonta will probably help us rush the passer this year as a freshmen. It’s just the early-down stuff and getting stronger in the weight room to be able to handle all of that in this league.”
During his final season of high school, Waller helped Picayune Memorial High School to the state finals as he recorded 69 total tackles, 22 tackles for a loss, nine sacks and forced a pair of fumbles.
“I’ve got the best of both worlds. I’ve got two talented leaders and then young guys that they can help develop,” Aldridge said of Auburn’s room of edge rushers. “It’s fun to see young players step up and get better every day. They’ve had a good camp. Really focusing a lot on getting those guys behind them ready these next couple of weeks, before our first game.”