AUBURN – One thing that Hugh Freeze made clear after his first year at the helm of the Auburn Tigers football program was overhauling the wide receiver room needed to be a priority.
The Tigers' receiver corps left a lot to be desired last season as Rivaldo Fairweather, a tight end, led the team in receiving yards and touchdowns with 394 and six, respectively.
Auburn brought in a highly rated crop of freshmen at the position, including two five-star recruits, Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson. Additionally, the Tigers added two veterans through the transfer portal, KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Robert Lewis.
Offensive coordinator Derrick Nix gave his thoughts on Auburn's wide receiver unit ahead of his first season with the program.
"The good thing about bringing new guys in and new blood, you get great competition," Nix said. "If you had Coach (Marcus) Davis up here he would probably say he felt great about six or seven of them at any time he could put in and rotate those guys to keep them fresh and that they're all going to play at a high level."
Nix talked about the veteran presence Lambert-Smith and Lewis provide and how it has been beneficial to the younger players in the room.
"I'll talk about Robert (Lewis) first," Nix said. "You can see a difference. The guys' work ethic, their attention to detail, being able to play inside receiver, outside receiver, learning schemes and just being a positive influence of all the young guys has been really good."
He continued, "I'll say the same thing about Dre (KeAndre Lambert-Smith). Very experienced, polished. His work ethic is really good and it's been trickling down to the guys that are younger like Cam (Coleman) who obviously is talented but just seeing what these guys do day-to-day, whether they're going to catch jugs or coming in later to watch film or to study plays has been great, having veteran guys come in and transfer."
Auburn begins the season at home against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs on August 31 at 6:30 p.m. CT. ESPN+/SEC Network+ will carry the broadcast.
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