Previewing Auburn football’s safeties for the 2024 season
Auburn’s safety room is one of the few spots on defense where there’s a real competition for a starting role.
After losing starting safeties Jaylin Simpson and Zion Puckett from last season, the Tigers had to start relatively fresh going into 2024.
One of those spots seems set with experienced Texas transfer Jerrin Thompson already having a firm grip on a starting position.
Those two players split first team reps during Auburn’s open scrimmage on Aug. 10, but safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator Charles Kelly said the battle goes deeper than just those two.
“We’ve got a few guys. It’s Caleb Wooden, you got Sylvester, you got Kaleb Harris, you got [Terrance] Love. I mean, all those guys, it’s not just one or two,” Kelly said during fall camp.
Harris and Love played primarily with the second team during the open scrimmage. Harris, a freshman out of Thompson High School, made one of the plays of the scrimmage, grabbing an interception.
Love, a sophomore, played in 12 games as a freshman last season and looks to build on his role in his second season.
Either Wooden or Smith is the most likely choice, but regardless of who starts, they’ll both see playing time.
Wooden has the edge in experience, going into his third season at Auburn. He played in 12 games last season, with his biggest contribution being an interception during Auburn’s Music City Bowl loss to Maryland.
Even Smith, who’s competing with Wooden for playing time said he has learned things from the junior.
“Caleb has a very strong mindset. So just being around him and seeing how he attacks each play and learning what he’s thinking before each play and after each play,” Smith said on what he has learned from Wooden.
Wooden had good things to say about Smith, too, giving both players a sense of confidence despite the competition.
“Sly’s a dog,” Wooden said. “He’s made plays and played with intensity, and that’s what we like from the safety position. He’s going to be really good.”
Regardless of who wins that starting job, Thompson is the unquestioned leader of the room.
He’s coming off back-to-back seasons where he earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors and had career highs in both interceptions and pass deflections in 2023.
Thompson played in 49 games with 31 starts during his time at Texas, bringing a level of experience Auburn doesn’t have anywhere else on its defense.
“There’s no substitute for experience. The only way you learn how to play this game is to play,” Kelly said. “I think because of his experiences and ups and downs, I think he brings a different aspect to the players from a leadership role and having that guy on the field that’s been there and been through those experiences, that helps a lot.”
His communication skills are arguably his best trait in the Auburn defense, allowing him to be an extension of the coaching staff on the field.
“As a coach, you like having a guy that’s been in the heat of the battle,” Kelly said.
Another name to watch at safety is junior Jahquez Robinson. Robinson followed Kelly from Colorado to Auburn and the two have worked together since they were both at Alabama from 2020-2022.
“He’s a pretty quick learner for not being here in the spring,” Kelly said. “He’s flashed at times, but his biggest thing is he’s got to develop consistency too.”
Developing consistency is a theme for much of Auburn’s secondary. Outside of Thompson and corner Keionte Scott, there isn’t much starting experience.
While Auburn has talented players at both levels of the secondary, finding that consistency and having reliable depth will likely decide how good the unit can be in 2024.
“In the secondary, if you’re not consistent, it’s a touchdown,” Kelly said. “A guy up front can be inconsistent, and nobody knows it. All right, they mess up in the secondary, I hear about it from my daughter, like, real quick.”