It was early August when Auburn defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett received a gift in the shape of a 6-foot-6, 288-pound freshman.

When Keldric Faulk – the 5-star gem of Auburn’s last recruiting class – first arrived to The Plains, he was set to join the likes of Jalen McLeod, Elijah McAllister and Stephen Sings V as Jack linebackers in Ron Roberts’ defense.

The Jack linebacker position, while like an edge rusher, is asked to be more dynamic and sometimes drop back into coverage.

Faulk had the skillset for that.

But as Faulk went through spring camp as an early enrollee and the start of fall camp, Roberts and the rest of the coaches on Auburn’s defensive staff began to pick up on the fact that the big-bodied rookie’s skillset might be better tailored to the defensive end spot.

By the second week of fall camp, Faulk was reclassified as a defensive end. And perhaps no one was happier than Garrett.

“Love working with Keldric,” Garrett said on Aug. 10. “I’m really glad they let me get him. It’s a big pickup.”

That same day, Garrett went on to gush about Maryland transfer defensive end Mosiah Nasili-Kite – notably the athleticism and strength he brought to the position.

Garrett also responded in the affirmative that day in August when asked if Auburn would need young guys like Faulk down the stretch this season.

“You’re going to need them ready to go always,” Garrett said.

A former SEC defensive lineman himself, Garrett understands how physical any position along the defensive line is in this league. It feels like injuries along the defensive front isn’t a question of “if”, but whether a question of “when”.

This season, the answer to the “when question” was answered against Georgia two weekends ago as Nasili-Kite suffered a torn bicep – an injury that unfortunately ended his season.

And now we return to Garrett’s comments from early in fall camp.

When Garrett first learned Faulk was moving to defensive end, he was eager to welcome such a raw talent to the defensive line and ease him into he game while developing him. But after Garrett’s worst fear came true and his defensive line took a massive blow courtesy of the injury bug, Faulk moving to defensive end is feeling more and more like a move that foreshadowed future unfortunate events.

Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze was asked about the importance of Faulk during his press conference on Monday. And his response was one of very few one-word answers Freeze has given this season.

“Vital,” Freeze said.

Faulk has appeared in every game this season while backing up Nasili-Kite and has tallied nine tackles, a tackle for a loss and two quarterback hurries.

Now, the relatively green freshman will record his first start against No. 22 LSU on Saturday night.

More: Jakaleb Faulk commits to Auburn, set to join older brother Keldric Faulk on The Plains

And fortunately for Auburn, many of Faulk’s teammates agree that the freshman defensive lineman is more than ready for the big stage of Tiger Stadium.

“Keldric is one of those guys where you can see certain guys and understand why they’re 5-stars,” said Auburn offensive lineman Gunner Britton.

But those kinds of comments are expected when talking about a guy with a stature like Faulk’s.

Instead, what sets Faulk apart from other freshmen and possibly even other 5-stars around the country is his willingness to be a student of the game.

Garrett said back in August that one of his duties as Auburn’s defensive line coach is to be there for his players whenever they might need him. In effort to do that, the ringer of Garrett’s cell phone is always on.

Sometimes, it rings as late as midnight.

“As soon as I hear it I know which one it is,” Garrett said. “Probably Keldric.”

And since learning that he would be moving into a starting role, Faulk has continued to stick his nose into any opportunity to learn.

Fellow defensive lineman Marcus Harris says Faulk’s day of work doesn’t end at the final whistle of practice.

“After practice, he wants to stay extra and see what his weaknesses are and work on those things,” Harris said Tuesday. “He’s still, to this day, he’s still trying to stay after practice, ask me different questions.”

On top of that, Faulk recognizes the opportunity to learn from the guys on the opposite side of the trenches.

Britton says he and other guys on Auburn’s offensive line have been approached by Faulk as he’s continued to get a greater grasp on playing at this level.

“I talk to him a good bit about just different stuff he can do against an offensive line and showing him an offensive lineman’s point of view on it so he can go out and work on it,” Britton said. “I know he talks to some of our offensive line coaches and watches an opposing offensive line so he can see how to expose those guys.”

Faulk gets his opportunity as a starter to try and expose LSU’s offensive line on Saturday night in Death Valley. And given LSU’s offensive success through its opening six games, it’s quite the fire Faulk is getting thrown into.

With LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels posing a great rushing threat in addition to an arm that leads the SEC in passing yards, it’ll be imperative that Faulk and the Auburn defense to set the edge and keep Daniels in the pocket.

“That’s a challenge because you can’t just rush him,” Harris said of Daniels. “You’ve got to be smart.”

Good thing Faulk has been touted as a student of the game, huh?

“I can’t wait to see how he handles this because I believe he’s ready for it and he knows he’s ready for it,” Harris said of Faulk.