Auburn football: 5 breakout players to watch in 2020
By John Buhler
player. 842. Scouting Report. S. Auburn Tigers. 1. Pick Analysis. Smoke Monday
Why do all the potential Auburn football breakout stars for 2020 get to have cool names? First, we touched on offensive tackle Brodarius Hamm. Then, we dissected Big Kat Bryant. And while D.J. Williams and Roger McCreary have great names as well, they simply cannot hold a candle to everybody’s new favorite defensive back in the SEC by the name of Smoke Monday.
Monday enters his junior season out of Atlanta at 6-foot-2 and 186 pounds. Like McCreary, versatility is his strong suit in the secondary. In two seasons with the Tigers, Monday has 35 total tackles (20 solo, 15 assists), four for a loss of yardage, three sacks of the quarterback, two interceptions for 29 yards and a trip to pay dirt.
Monday is the player everybody has been raving about this offseason for the Tigers. As stated before, this year’s defense might play a little different for Kevin Steele. Typically, his front-seven gets after it with a strong pass rush and run defense. However, this might be the year where the defensive backs are the ones to carry Auburn to being one of the better teams in the SEC.
What should have fans excited about Auburn this season is the potential balance the Tigers will have all over the gridiron. They’ve got playmakers at seemingly all position groups. If this Auburn defense can be as menacing as we all think it can be, the Tigers have an outside of reaching the College Football Playoff. So if they want to win big on Saturdays, they’ll need to lean on Monday.
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