Visit any bookstore this time of year and you’ll find that the magazine section is littered with preview magazines for the upcoming college football season. The three major magazines — Lindy’s Sports, Phil Steele and Athlon Sports — have all hit the shelves, bringing the spirit of “talking season” to households across the country.

Considering the major changes the SEC has seen over the offseason, it’s no surprise the now-16-team conference has found itself in the middle of swirling debates in each of the three major preview magazines.

“What will Oklahoma and Texas do in their first year in their new home conference?”

“How will Alabama fare in its first year without Nick Saban?”

“Is Missouri legit?”

And at the center of it all are the Auburn Tigers, who are gearing up for Year 2 under head coach Hugh Freeze.

Lindy’s Sports predicts that Auburn will finish 10th in the SEC in 2024, sandwiched between Texas A&M at No. 9 and Kentucky at No. 11.

In its breakdown of each team, Lindy’s offers some good news, some bad news and “our call.”

Here’s a look at each for Auburn:

The Good News

In his breakdown of the Tigers, Lindy’s wrote that the good news for Auburn fans is that Freeze and Co. addressed the needs at receiver by bringing in elite 2024 signees Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson, who Lindy’s ranks as the nation’s third and 44th incoming freshmen, respectively.

After enrolling early, Coleman was able to go through spring camp with the Tigers and even appeared in Auburn’s A-Day spring game in early April, hauling in four catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. Coleman went on to be named Offensive MVP for the spring game, becoming the first freshman in program history to do so.

Meanwhile, Thompson didn’t get to campus until the summer, meaning he’s yet to go through a full camp with the Tigers. However, the former 5-star prospect has been one Auburn’s coaching staff and fanbase have both been eager to see in action since Thompson flipped his commitment from Alabama nearly a year ago.

However, what Lindy’s fails to mention is that Auburn’s wide receiver room didn’t just get a boost from the high school ranks, which also includes the additions of Bryce Cain and Malcolm Simmons, but the Tigers also improved themselves there via the transfer portal with additions like Georgia State transfer Robert Lewis, Penn State transfer KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Cal transfer Sam Jackson V.

The Bad News

According to Lindy’s, the bad news for Auburn is that “quarterback questions still remain after failing to land a transfer at the position.”

Despite plenty of quarterback talent hitting the transfer portal in the offseason, Freeze and Co. never seemed to do anything more than kick the tires on adding a transfer quarterback. Instead, Freeze maintained that he felt confident in what Auburn had in its quarterback room, with incumbent starter Payton Thorne being the clearcut favorite to lead the Tigers’ offense in 2024.

That said, “failing to land a transfer” might not be the right verbiage. Perhaps, “not wanting to add a transfer” might be more appropriate.

Nonetheless, with Thorne set to take the reins of the Auburn offense again in 2024, it may be fair to say that “quarterback questions still remain” considering Thorne’s first season on The Plains left plenty to be desired as the Tigers’ passing offense ranked No. 121 among all FBS teams last season.

Thorne, who started his career at Michigan State, went 162-for-265 with 1,755 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his first year with the Tigers, all while cycling in and out with former Auburn quarterback Robby Ashford, who went on to transfer to South Carolina in the offseason.

However, all offseason, Freeze has said that he has ample confidence in Thorne, who says he’s feeling much more comfortable heading into Season 2 not only knowing he’s Auburn’s guy, but also working with new offensive coordinator Derrick Nix and promoted quarterback coach Kent Austin.

Our Call

“Until Hugh Freeze gets players who fit his system in tow, the Tigers are a mixed bag offensively,” Lindy’s predicts in his “Our Call” assessment of Auburn.

Certainly after last season, Lindy’s take is a fair one. However, looking at Auburn’s efforts in the offseason, it would appear Freeze is getting players who fit his system — or at least he’s trying.

Unhappy with Auburn’s passing game production in 2023, Freeze completely retooled the Tigers’ wide receiver room.

“We had to restructure that room,” Freeze said of Auburn’s receivers before his round at the Regions Tradition Celebrity Pro-Am golf event in Hoover on May 8. “I hate saying it like that sometimes. But for what we want to do, we had to change that room.”

Auburn saw eight wide receivers leave during the offseason as two ran out of eligibility and six others elected to transfer. To offset the losses, the Tigers added seven wide receivers with a trio of transfer additions and its impressive, four-man wide receiver haul from the high school ranks.

Are all seven of those receivers unproven when it comes to playing in an SEC offense? Sure.

But one’s gotta think Freeze wouldn’t have made those additions if he didn’t think they’d fit what Auburn’s trying to do on offense.

Not to mention, Freeze and the Tigers also added a pair of offensive linemen in Mississippi State transfer Percy Lewis and Akron transfer Ronan Chambers.

Nonetheless, only time will tell and we’re just 50 days from beginning to find out as the Tigers kickoff their 2024 campaign on August 31.