Auburn trying to temper expectations for ‘monster’ freshman Keldric Faulk
During the frenzied three-week period after Hugh Freeze accepted the head coaching job at Auburn, there was one recruit he allocated a preponderance of his time to — Keldric Faulk.
Freeze made the one permitted in-home visit to Faulk less than two weeks after taking over on the Plains, but he made sure the 6-foot-6, 275-pound edge rusher felt like a priority to Auburn every day leading up to December’s early signing period. That meant phone calls every morning and every night, and “a ton” of FaceTime conversations between the Tigers’ new coach and the talented four-star in-state prospect.
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As Auburn’s first spring under Freeze winds down, with just a few more practices remaining before next weekend’s A-Day game, it’s easy to see why Freeze and his staff made such an overwhelming push to land Faulk, the top-75 prospect in their initial signing class.
“I’m telling you, Keldric Faulk, he’s going to be it,” defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett said. “He’s going to be it. Really excited about the way he rushes and the way he’s progressed since he got here. He’s going to be good.”
Faulk has been among the standouts for Auburn this spring, and not just as a true freshman early enrollee. The Highland Home product has been the talk of teammates and coaches alike for his development — as well as his size — at a position of serious need for the Tigers. Freeze didn’t hide the fact that Auburn is “deficient in true pass-rushers” this spring following the departures of Derick Hall and Eku Leota, and while the staff still wants to add more depth in that area, Faulk is a newcomer who they believe can make an immediate impact at the Jack linebacker position in Ron Roberts’ defense.
“Keldric Faulk, man, he’s a monster,” linebacker Cam Riley said. “He stands up at a good size. He’s a good, complete edge, I would say. He’s a very physical guy. He sets the edge, for a freshman, that’s pretty outstanding.”
It shouldn’t come as a complete surprise that Faulk’s stock has quickly risen at Auburn. He was, after all, the prized signee in Freeze’s first recruiting class on the Plains. A longtime Florida State commit, Faulk flipped to Auburn at the start of the early signing period and wound up being the Tigers’ highest-rated signee in a transitional class that finished 18th in the 247Sports Composite team rankings.
Rated as the No. 74 overall recruit in the country, Faulk was regarded as a top-10 defensive line prospect in the class and one of the best players in Alabama. As a senior at Highland Home, Faulk earned first-team All-State honors and earned an invite to the All-American Bowl thanks to his ability off the edge. It’s a skillset that has, so far, translated well to Auburn, where he looks to provide some immediate relief as a pass-rusher.
After losing Hall, who led the team in sacks each of the last two seasons, as well as Leota (second in sacks in 2021, third in 2022 despite missing much of the year due to injury), Auburn has a need to fill off the edge. The Tigers added Vanderbilt transfer Elijah McAllister, and Faulk, as well as Opelika product Brenton Williams to a room that returned just one scholarship piece: Dylan Brooks. With an opportunity in front of him as an early enrollee, Faulk has capitalized this spring.
“He’s special,” defensive end Jeffrey M’ba said. “He’s special. I watch him. The way he plays, he plays hard. He gives everything he’s got every single time. I don’t even think he’s lost one 1-on-1…. That tells you how good he is. He’s not afraid to line up against anybody. All he thinks about is being great. Being around a kid like this is cool.”
The hype-train for Faulk is gaining steam this spring, but it’s important to remember he’s still a true freshman and is still adjusting to the college game. Though Faulk certainly looks the part — at 6-foot-6 and 275 pounds, he’s Auburn’s most physically imposing Jack linebacker — Roberts said it took him about six practices to really get a feel for the system and start to come into his own.
“There’s so much hesitation — what do I do, what am I doing, how do I play this, how do I play that? — which is normal,” Roberts said. “That’s kind of expected going into things…. I think he’s done an outstanding job, and he’s shown an ability to be a heck of a football player for us.”
Over the last two weeks of practices, though, things have started to slow down more for Faulk. His grasp of the position and its role within the defense is getting stronger, he’s adjusting to the speed of the game, and it’s showing out on the field and in the meeting room — even as Roberts said Faulk and his fellow freshman, Williams, are still in a growing phase this early on.
That Faulk has caught on so quickly is a promising sign for Auburn on the pass-rushing front, but the Tigers are trying not to hoist him onto a pedestal heading into Year 1. They’re confident he can play a key role off the edge, with Roberts certain he’ll make the most progress in the offseason months and through fall camp, which should have him SEC-ready come September.
However, they also want to temper expectations for a true freshman coming in, especially at that position.
Though Auburn is deficient in returning pass-rush production (Marcus Harris, with two, is the only returning player who had more than one sack last season), the program hasn’t had a true freshman lead the team in sacks since it became an officially recognized stat in 2000. Three redshirt freshmen have led the team in sacks in that span (DeMarco McNeil with five in 2000, Quentin Groves with 11 in 2004, and Colby Wooden with four in 2019), but in the last decade, Auburn has had only one true freshman finish with more than two sacks in his first season: Carl Lawson, who had four in 2013.
The only other true freshmen since then who had multiple sacks in their debut seasons were Big Kat Bryant in 2017, Richard Jibunor in 2018 and Owen Pappoe in 2019. Each of those three finished with two sacks apiece.
“I don’t think he realizes how good he can actually be,” Garrett said. “He’s just coming in to work. He’s not listening to anybody telling him how good he is or anything like that. He’s coming in, he’s studying. He’s working hard. He’s trying to learn. He’s out there early walking through techniques.
“I just think the kid’s going to be special, has a bright future as he keeps progressing.”
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.