Injuries to wr's create opportunities for others

[WFE12 9,191]

Injuries to Hastings, Stove ‘create some opportunities’ for other Auburn WRs

Josh Vitale - AU Now

Auburn offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey is trying to find the positives in the spring-ending injuries suffered by wide receivers Eli Stove and Will Hastings, difficult as that may be.

Stove tore his ACL on March 8 and underwent surgery the next week. He will certainly miss the rest of spring, but the rising junior is walking again with a brace on his right knee, and head coach Gus Malzahn said he expects him to return at some point during the 2018 season and “possibly even early.”

Malzahn has not yet addressed the knee injury Hastings suffered during Saturday’s scrimmage, but a source confirmed multiple reports stating that the rising junior tore his ACL and will also be sidelined for the remainder of the spring.

 

Those injuries could leave the Tigers to open the 2018 season without two of their top four pass-catchers from last season. Stove caught 29 passes for 265 yards and rushed 30 times for 315 yards and two touchdowns, and Hastings caught 26 balls for 525 yards and four scores.

But they also give the team a chance to get a better look at Auburn’s other wide receivers this spring.

“Obviously, sometimes the situation creates more opportunity than you anticipated maybe,” Lindsey said. “That's going to create some opportunities for those guys, and also for some guys that are here right now that maybe weren't getting as many reps. We're going to turn it into a positive and get some guys some reps and see who can play.”

The biggest of those opportunities is probably at flanker, which is the spot Stove was likely to start at this season. Darius Slayton, Nate Craig-Myers and Marquis McClain are still healthy at the outside positions, and even with Hastings sidelined, Auburn has a standout slot receiver in Ryan Davis who set the program’s single-season receptions record last season with 84 for a team-high 815 yards and five touchdowns.

Lindsey also mentioned tight end turned wide receiver Sal Cannella (three catches, 31 yards) and walk-on Griffin King (one catch) as options to see more time in the slot.

“We can do some different things to get different guys there,” Lindsey said. “Kind of each group, we've just played different personnel groups and still get in the same sets we'd get in with Will or whatever. Ryan's back now. He's solid. Like what he's doing there. Again, we're just trying to piece it together and get some guys some reps that maybe weren't going to get some.”

One option at flanker could be early enrollee Shedrick Jackson, who wore an orange non-contact jersey during Thursday’s practice due to a hamstring injury but is expected back on the field soon. The 6-foot, three-star recruit caught 48 passes for 979 yards and nine touchdowns for Class 7A champion Hoover High as a senior.

“He’s going to be a great piece to our offense,” Craig-Myers said. “He’s a straight-line guy that’s going to get down the field, as well as the other guys that are coming in. He’s quick, he’s fast, he’s going to get open and he looks like he’s desperate for the ball.”

Auburn could also move sophomore Noah Igbinoghene — who caught six passes for 24 yards last season — back to receiver full-time, though he has continued to split time between offense and defense despite the injuries this spring.

 

Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said “he has the toughness” to make an impact at defensive back, where Auburn has a need after the departure of Carlton Davis. But Lindsey surely wouldn’t mind having him back in the blue jersey full time.

There is also the potential that he could play both ways, though the offensive coordinator said “it’s too early to tell” whether that will be feasible or not in 2018.

“He’s a talented guy,” Lindsey said. “He’s done well over there at DB, too, so I think Noah’s approach is kind of like mine — whatever’s best for our football team. I know we lost a really good corner last year, and, you know, he’s done well over there, for sure. We’ll see how it turns out.”

There might be a lack of depth at the position now, but reinforcements are on the way. Jackson is one of just four wide receivers Auburn signed in its 2018 class, and the other three — top-35 recruits Matthew Hill, Anthony Schwartz and Seth Williams — are set to arrive over the summer.

So while Auburn would rather have a healthy Stove and Hastings, it does have seem to have enough pieces to weather the storm if need be.

“You sign guys these days and you anticipate they'll get an opportunity to play early, and a lot of them want that anyway,” Lindsey said. “I think you've got to turn it into a positive and let those guys that are getting some reps now get some work and evaluate them. Then you kind of know.”