There are some punchy sayings that Auburn secondary coach Wesley McGriff uses from time to time.

“Other side of the pancake,” said senior cornerback D.J. James. “That’s one of his sayings. If he has something else to say about something, he’ll just be like ‘And the side of the pancake is,’ and we laugh every time. It’s funny.”

And in terms of Auburn’s experience levels in the defensive backfield, there are certainly two sides of the pancake.

If you’re counting snaps from the 2022 season, the Tigers return their six top defensive backs, including James and fellow senior Nehemiah Pritchett. Together, the pair makes up one of the most seasoned and efficient cornerback tandems in the country.

Zion Puckett and Jaylin Simpson, both seniors, are set to return as Auburn’s veteran safety group, while juniors Keionte Scott and Donovan Kaufman serve as the program’s most experienced options at the nickel spot.

Yet despite Auburn’s secondary coming into the 2023 season as perhaps the most “figured out” unit, the position group isn’t immune to criticism from first-year head coach Hugh Freeze.

“I think we’ve got to improve our mental toughness and our attention to detail in the secondary,” Freeze said ahead of Auburn’s first fall practice. “I do think we have some talent there, but it’s some older talent, and then it’s some really good young talent. I don’t think any have been stressed and strained enough to where we need to be.”

Auburn’s “really good young talent” is the other side of the secondary’s pancake.

Sophomore cornerbacks J.D. Rhym and Champ Bailey are two of the team’s younger guys who are vying for play time this fall.

While Rhym boasts a lot of versatility, according to James, Bailey has been the one who is making big strides.

“I’ve been seeing a lot of improvement, just growing, him learning. Just him asking me stuff,” James said. “I want to teach him, I want to be there for him. You know, he’s new here, so stuff can be fast. But I’m just taking him under [my wing] with me.”

And James isn’t the only veteran in the room who has taken a younger player under his wing.

It isn’t uncommon to see a young defensive back paired up and moving step-by-step with a guy who has more experience during drills.

“We want them to get as many reps as possible,” defensive coordinator Ron Roberts said. “Any time we get them in those situations where they can do it, we’re trying to get them behind a veteran, so they can see the alignment, the adjustments—and what do they sound like? What kind of communications should they be making on the field? How can they talk to each other? Those things will hopefully help bring them on a lot faster.”

Freshman cornerback Kayin Lee is an example of a guy who was brought up to speed quick after enrolling early. Since his arrival, Lee, who is battling Rhym for reps as the No. 3 cornerback, has garnered high praise from just about everyone close to the program.

But not every rookie had the luxury of getting to The Plains early.

“We’ve got some freshman, obviously, heads are spinning,” said defensive coordinator Ron Roberts. “Their heads are spinning. There’s a lot at them. The tempo, probably, of practice is a head-spinner.”

JC Hart, Colton Hood and Tyler Scott are three freshmen who enrolled at Auburn on June 1 and are experiencing their first camp with the Tigers.

While the younger players continue to adjust to preparation at the college level, the Tigers look to older players breakout as leaders. So far, it’s been Pritchett, Scott and a handful of others who have started to rise as leaders.

But again, the dynamic isn’t perfect.

“There’s about six, seven guys that we’ve kind of leaned on. The leadership right now is probably more so from how they conduct their business. We would like it to step into more so how it can lead the individuals on this football team to become better,” Roberts said. “I think we need to take some strides forward with that, if I’m being honest about that. We’ve got to take strides forward.”

First coming from head coach Freeze and then Roberts, the Tigers’ secondary, which is set to be one of the team’s stronger units on the field, has taken its fair share of shots this week.

And instead of feeling slighted, the position group, led by the elder side of the pancake, is choosing to respond.

“It’s just the challenge. Every day, that’s our goal in the room: To get better,” said senior nickelback Keionte Scott. “With us being so talented, the only ways we’re able to give up things is just little mistakes. Being able to hone in on those little things and being able to know the checks and being able think fast and all play on the same level mentally and physically.”