How time flies. It felt like just the other day that Auburn was wrapping up its 2022 campaign—and Cadillac Williams’ memorable stint as interim head coach—and introducing Hugh Freeze as the program’s new head coach.

And just like that, it’s time for the start of spring practices.

Read more Auburn football: Five position battles to keep an eye on during Auburn spring practice

Breaking down Auburn’s additions, losses, remaining needs after first transfer window

“That was wild”: How Auburn climbed recruiting rankings after late-season coaching change

Auburn will hold its first practice under Freeze and the new coaching staff Monday afternoon. It’s the first of 15 practices this spring, culminating in the A-Day spring game on April 8 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. There will be plenty to learn about Auburn over these next six weeks, but before the Tigers hit the practice fields at the new Woltosz Football Performance Center for the first time, AL.com will attempt to project Auburn’s two-deep depth chart heading into the spring.

We’ll revisit this after A-Day as Auburn hits the summer months:

OFFENSE

Quarterback

Robby Ashford, redshirt sophomore

T.J. Finley, redshirt junior

The 411: All eyes will be on the quarterbacks this spring, as Hugh Freeze and Philip Montgomery will get their first up-close look at the Tigers’ returning personnel at the position. Best-case scenario for Auburn: Ashford takes a significant step forward in his development with three proven quarterback coaches (Freeze, Montgomery and Kent Austin) taking over the offense. Worst case: Auburn peruses its options in the transfer portal come May.

Running back

Jarquez Hunter, junior

Brian Battie, junior

The 411: With Tank Bigsby gone, it’s Hunter’s time to take over as Auburn’s featured back. The junior put together two strong campaigns as the No. 2 option, so it’ll be interesting to see how he handles top billing. It should help that Auburn brought in an experienced change-of-pace back to complement him in Battie, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards at South Florida last season.

Tight end

Luke Deal, redshirt junior OR

Rivaldo Fairweather, junior

Tyler Fromm, redshirt senior

The 411: Auburn loses John Samuel Shenker but returns plenty of depth to tight end and welcome FIU transfer Fairweather, an established pass-catching option who should immediately vie for reps alongside Deal.

Wide receiver/X

Camden Brown, sophomore OR

Nick Mardner, senior

Landen King, redshirt sophomore

The 411: Perhaps the most intriguing battle among the skill positions will be at the X receiver, where Auburn replaces Shedrick Jackson. Brown generated ample buzz last fall but only really had one breakout game as a freshman—still, he has the kind of size and range that makes him a high-upside option on the outside. Then there’s Mardner, who transferred from Cincinnati and will reunite with wide receivers coach Marcus Davis, whom he played for at Hawaii in 2021, when he had his most productive college season.

Wide receiver/H

Ja’Varrius Johnson, redshirt senior

Tar’Varish Dawson, redshirt sophomore

The 411: Johnson was Auburn’s leading receiver and its most explosive option in the passing game last season, catching 26 passes for 493 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 18.96 yards per reception. He could thrive in a new and (presumably) improved offense under Freeze.

Wide receiver/Z

Koy Moore, junior

Malcolm Johnson Jr., senior

The 411: After transferring from LSU last offseason, Moore was Auburn’s second-most consistent receiver in 2022 as he overtook Johnson at the flanker spot. Moore will be favored for the starting job here, but don’t count out Johnson or even Omari Kelly.

Left tackle

Dillon Wade, junior

Izavion Miller, junior

The 411: Auburn replaces all of its top tackles from last season and emphasized the position in an offseason overhaul of the offensive line. Wade, a transfer from Tulsa, figures to be the natural plug-and-play option here; he started at left tackle for Montgomery at Tulsa last year and should seamlessly transition to the role on the Plains. Still, Miller is highly regarded by Auburn’s staff, and the man they call “Too Tall” could be a factor at either tackle spot.

Left guard

Kam Stutts, redshirt senior

Connor Lew, freshman

The 411: Stutts started 11 of Auburn’s 12 games at guard last season, with the bulk of those—seven—coming on the left side. That included each of Auburn’s final five games of the season. He returns the most experience on the interior of the line for the Tigers. With little experience behind him, don’t be surprised if Lew, a true freshman, gets some run as the backup at guard this spring.

Center

Avery Jones, senior

Tate Johnson, redshirt junior

The 411: Johnson took over the starting role at center in fall camp last year after Nick Brahms medically retired, and he proceeded to start the first four games of the season for the Tigers before an elbow injury ended his campaign. Johnson, who experienced some growing pains in his first starts last season, is healthy now, but Auburn still added some reinforcements at center through the transfer portal. Jones is a former four-star recruit who started his career at UNC but spent the last three seasons at ECU, where he started 32 games and was one of the nation’s top pass protectors last season.

Right guard

Jeremiah Wright, redshirt junior

Jalil Irvin, redshirt senior

The 411: Wright started just one game last season, at left guard, but figures to be a sure bet to slot in as a starter at one of the guard spots in 2023. Auburn could toy with the configurations at guard, but for the sake of this exercise, I’ve got him on the right side. One thing is for certain, at least: After years of switching back and forth between the offensive line and defensive line, Wright is here to stay on offense and should be a fixture of the Tigers’ revamped unit.

Right tackle

Gunner Britton, redshirt senior

Izavion Miller, junior

The 411: Britton has 18 career starts under his belt from his time at Western Kentucky, including all 14 games for the Hilltoppers last season, when he split time between left and right tackle. With Wade a more natural fit on the left side, expect to see Britton settle in on the right side of the line, with Miller in the mix at both tackle spots while Auburn works to figure out its best five-man unit.

DEFENSE

Defensive line

Marcus Harris, senior

Jeffrey M’ba, junior

The 411: Harris is back for Year 3 as a starter along Auburn’s defensive line, and after playing a supporting role behind Derick Hall and Colby Wooden the last two seasons, expect him to take on more of a leadership role this season.

Defensive tackle

Mosiah Nasili-Kite, senior

Zykeivous Walker, redshirt junior

The 411: Replacing Wooden, with his versatility along the line, is no simple task, but that’s part of why Auburn hit the portal hard up front. Here, Maryland transfer Nasili-Kite should help lessen the blow of Wooden’s departure, while Walker is back in the mix after leaving the team in October and exploring the transfer portal before the coaching change occurred.

Defensive tackle/nose

Jayson Jones, redshirt junior OR

Justin Rogers, junior

Lawrence Johnson, senior

The 411: Jones is back for his second season after transferring from Oregon, but he won’t be the only big-time transfer looking to help plug holes up front for Auburn. Enter, Rogers, who ate up space for Kentucky last season while recording 35 tackles for the Wildcats.

Jack linebacker

Elijah McAllister, senior OR

Dylan Brooks, redshirt sophomore

Keldric Faulk, freshman

The 411: This is where Auburn loses its most production from last season, with Hall and Eku Leota both off for the NFL, and the team also seeing former transfer Marcus Bragg exhaust his eligibility. The Tigers hit the portal and added Vanderbilt transfer McAllister, but they’ll also look for Brooks to step up in his third year in the program. Faulk, the team’s top-rated 2023 signee, could see the field early with the benefit of spring practices.

Mike linebacker

Austin Keys, junior

Wesley Steiner, senior

Will linebacker

Cam Riley, junior

DeMario Tolan, sophomore

The 411: Auburn loses team captain and former five-star recruit Owen Pappoe, returns two key pieces in Steiner and Riley, and adds a pair of high-quality SEC transfers in Keys and Tolan. Keys brings starting experience with him from Ole Miss, and he could quickly take over the starting spot at Mike, where Pappoe resided last season. Riley should be the favorite to earn the starting spot at Will.

Cornerback

Nehemiah Pritchett, redshirt senior

J.D. Rhym, sophomore

Cornerback

D.J. James, senior

Jaylin Simpson, redshirt senior

The 411: Talk about a loaded position. Auburn could have easily faced a reset at corner, but instead it saw Pritchett and James pass up the NFL Draft for one more season on the Plains. Between those two and Simpson, Auburn returns its top three outside corners from last season, and the position should be a clear strength this spring.

Nickel

Keionte Scott, junior

Austin Ausberry, redshirt freshman

The 411: Scott emerged as Auburn’s top option in the slot last season, and while he made a few starts at safety late in the year, he should be back at nickel this spring. Don’t be surprised if Simpson gets some run here, as well.

Safety

Zion Puckett, redshirt senior

Marquise Gilbert, junior

Safety

Donovan Kaufman, redshirt junior

Cayden Bridges, redshirt sophomore OR

Caleb Wooden, sophomore

The 411: Auburn’s top-five safeties from last season are back in the fold, including starters Puckett and Kaufman. Like the cornerbacks, this group should be in good hands as the Tigers try to build off their top-25 passing defense from last season.

SPECIALISTS

Kicker

Alex McPherson, redshirt freshman

Evan McGuire, redshirt junior

The 411: The Carlson Kicking Dynasty is finally over after nine seasons. Now it’s time for McPherson, the former No. 1 overall kicker in the 2022 class, to fully take over kicking duties after he got his feet wet late last season following an injury to Anders Carlson.

Punter

Oscar Chapman, senior

Alex McPherson, redshirt freshman

The 411: Chapman returns for his fourth season as Auburn’s starting punter after helping the team finish ninth nationally last season in net punting.

Long snapper

Jacob Quattlebaum, redshirt senior

Kyle Vaccarella, redshirt sophomore OR

Reed Hughes, junior

Holder

Oscar Chapman, junior

Kick returner

Brian Battie, junior AND

Jarquez Hunter, junior

Damari Alston, sophomore AND

Keionte Scott, junior

Punt returner

Keionte Scott, junior

Ja’Varrius Johnson, redshirt senior

The 411: Auburn brings back its top options on both kick returns (Hunter) and punt returns (Scott) this season. Whether Hunter handles that job again while taking over the top spot at running back remains to be seen, but his counterpart in the backfield brings considerable experience and play-making ability to the return game. Battie was a consensus All-America return specialist in 2021, when he averaged 32.5 yards per return and led the nation with three touchdowns. He should be favored as the No. 1 return option. Scott, meanwhile, ranked 17th among FBS punt returners while averaging 9.57 yards per attempt. He’ll try to build off that this season.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.