Auburn Position Preview: Safeties

Key Losses:

Ryan Smith

Key Returnees:

Jermaine Whitehead, Rudy Ford, Brandon King

Newcomers:

Derrick Moncrief, Markell Boston

Causes for optimism:

Whitehead has experience and Moncrief is supposed to be a beast. However, Moncrief has missed time this fall with an illness and now Rudy Ford has moved ahead of him on the depth chart. I don't think this is a bad thing right now. Apparently Rudy has played very well, there. Having Ford and Moncrief as options is a good thing. Markell Boston was pushing for time but he has also been dealing with injuries. I really haven't heard much about Whitehead all fall. In fact, I had to search to remember who the other Safety was. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, honestly.

Causes for concern:

Depth behind the starters. Again. It seems like this has been the major concern for the past few years. Also the injuries are a concern. It seems like we have too many players dealing with nagging injuries. I don't know if this is just coach-speak, or if it's just the nature of fall camp, but it seems to be a constant. I'm fairly confident in Whitehead, Ford, and Moncrief. Behind that I have no clue what we're going to look like and how well the reserves will play. I haven't heard JUCO transfer Brandon King mentioned much this camp, but hopefully he is capable of adding some more experience to the rotation, as well.

Next up: Special Teams