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AUBURN, Alabama -- Plenty of experience returns at cornerback for Auburn, a team that started six different players at the position in 2012.
Finding key playmakers out of that group who can anchor the secondary is the task moving forward in a scheme that will ask Auburn's corners to play mostly zone coverage and a lot of three-deep looks.
This is the ninth installment in a series looking at Auburn's personnel as the Tigers prepare to open spring practice on March 27. For a look at how the shift to the 4-2-5 affects the secondary's responsibilities, check out the series AL.com published earlier this month.
BY THE NUMBERS
•Jonathon Mincy: 57 tackles, 4 pass breakups, 4 tackles-for-loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble forced
•Chris Davis: 46 tackles, 3 pass breakups, 1.5 tackles-for-loss
•Josh Holsey: 30 tackles, 6 pass breakups, 2 tackles-for-loss
•Jonathan Jones: 13 tackles, 1 pass breakup
•Ryan White: 11 tackles
•Robenson Therezie: 3 tackles, 1 tackle-for-loss
THE DEPARTED
•T'Sharvan Bell: 24 tackles, 5 pass breakups, 1 fumble recovery
SPRING CAST
•Chris Davis, Sr.
•Ryan White, Sr.
•Jonathon Mincy, Jr.
•Robenson Therezie, Jr.
•Josh Holsey, So.
•Jonathan Jones, So.
•T.J. Davis, R-Fr.
ON THE WAY
•Kamryn Melton, Fr.
BURNING QUESTION
-- Plenty of playing experience returns on the outside for Auburn, but can new cornerbacks coach Melvin Smith help those players take the next step and turn into playmakers?
BIGGEST RESUMES
Auburn's coaching staff have had high hopes for Chris Davis in each of the past two seasons, partially due to the flashes he showed early in his sophomore season and at the Chick-fil-A Bowl win over Virginia in 2013, but injuries -- a shoulder injury as a sophomore, a serious concussion last year have held Davis back. Despite being a key rotational figure in the secondary for three years, Davis still doesn't have an interception. Jonathon Mincy made some strides as a second-year player, but he struggled with penalties on the outside, although he looked solid in the slot.
FLASH OF POTENTIAL
Halfway through the season, Josh Holsey emerged as a possible future starter. Holsey plays physical football on the outside, and he showed an ability to handle man coverage on a deep route against some of the SEC's top burners. In addition, Holsey seems to have a nose for the ball; although he didn't have a pick, Holsey got his hands on a handful of passes he couldn't quite reel in. One of the Tigers' taller corners at 5-11, Holsey will likely have a chance to return to the starting lineup in the fall.
ON THE WAY
Kamryn Melton flew under the radar in some recruiting circles, but the Dothan product turned some heads with his play in practices at the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game, and he has the long limbs Smith looks for in his corners. With so much playing experience returning, it might be hard for Melton to crack the lineup right away.
FACTS OF LIFE
-- Auburn's cornerbacks did not make an interception in 2012.
QUOTABLE
-- "You've got to constantly come up with ways to keep your game competitive. If you're rigid in what you do, and if you're not flexible in what you do, you're not going to grow. Growth is all about, to me, chasing yourself. I try to study my players, and I fit instruction to fit them." -- cornerbacks coach Melvin Smith
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