At his Monday afternoon press conference just now, Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin released the depth chart for Week 1 against Mercer. We knew that T.J. Finley had taken the starting job after word leaked over the weekend, but the rest of the lineup has now been finalized as well.

Here it is in black and white:

OFFENSE

QUARTERBACK

1. T.J. Finley
2. Robby Ashford

RUNNING BACK

1. Tank Bigsby
2. Jarquez Hunter

TIGHT END

1. John Samuel Shenker
2. Luke Deal

WIDE RECEIVER X

1. Shedrick Jackson
2. Camden Brown

WIDE RECEIVER H

1. Tar’Varish Dawson
2. Ja’Varrius Johnson

WIDE RECEIVER Z

1. Malcolm Johnson Jr.
2. Koy Moore

LEFT TACKLE

1. Kilian Zierer
2. Brenden Coffey

LEFT GUARD

1. Brandon Council
2. Jeremiah Wright
3. Jalil Irvin

CENTER

1. Tate Johnson
2. Jalil Irvin
3. Avery Jernigan

RIGHT GUARD

1. Keiondre Jones OR Kam Stutts

RIGHT TACKLE

1. Austin Troxell
2. Alec Jackson

DEFENSE

RUSH

1. Derick Hall
2. Dylan Brooks

DEFENSIVE END

1. Colby Wooden
2. Morris Joseph Jr

NOSE TACKLE

1. Jayson Jones
2. Marquis Burks

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

1. Marcus Harris
2. Jeffrey M’Ba

STUD

1. Eku Leota
2. Marcus Bragg

MIDDLE LINEBACKER

1. Owen Pappoe
2. Wesley Steiner

WEAKSIDE LINEBACKER

1. Cam Riley
2. Eugene Asante
3. Jake Levant

CORNERBACK

1. Nehemiah Pritchett
2. Keionte Scott
3. J.D. Rhym

CORNERBACK

1. Jaylin Simpson
2. D.J. James

SAFETY

1. Zion Puckett
2. Craig McDonald
3. Marquise Gilbert

SAFETY

1. Donovan Kaufman
2. Cayden Bridges

SPECIAL TEAMS

PLACE KICKER

1. Anders Carlson
2. Alex McPherson

PUNTER

1. Oscar Chapman
2. Alex McPherson

HOLDER

1. Oscar Chapman
2. Trey Lindsey

LONG SNAPPER

1. Jacob Quattlebaum
2. Kyle Vaccarella
3. Reed Hughes

PUNT RETURNER

1. Ja’Varrius Johnson OR Keionte Scott

KICKOFF RETURNER

1. Jarquez Hunter AND Nehemiah Pritchett

Whew, that’s a mouthful. Alrighty, so let’s get some thoughts.

• We knew that Finley was starting, but I’m very interested to see the breakdown of opportunities for Ashford in the first two weeks and how that turns out to play into the Penn State gameplan.
• No surprises at tailback or tight end, but seeing Dawson skip over into the starting lineup makes me excited for him. Assuming Shedrick Jackson puts it together on the field and becomes the kind of guy we’re looking to on and off the field, then this group could surprise some people. I’m very excited to see the Camden Brown hype train translate into actual game play and not just practice notes.
• No real surprises on the offensive line either, except for the note we all feared might be coming.

With Brahms done, it really just emphasizes how little Auburn can afford an injury or two on the offensive line. Just pray we don’t enter a 1998 situation, going through six different centers.

• Auburn’s going to have some big rangy dudes in the middle of the defense, with Wooden (6’5) and Jones (6’6). That front line should be electric, and it speaks to Jones’ ability that he was able to transfer in and snag a starting spot alongside some guys who should end up All-SEC when the season’s done.
• It’s Jake Levant’s world and we’re all just living in it.
• Cam Riley is tall as hell too, very Karlos Dansby-ish. With the guys in front of him, short quarterbacks might have a hell of a time not having half of their passes batted down.
• I was worried about defensive back depth, but looking at it all laid out doesn’t seem so bad. Pritchett and Simpson will both likely become NFL draft picks, and with guys that ravaged fall camp like Keionte Scott and Cayden Bridges waiting in the wings, there should be opportunities for that depth to provide quality minutes.
• Alex McPherson is going to be the backup at both placekicker and punter.
• QUATTLEBAUM.
• With both Ja’Varrius Johnson and Keionte Scott wearing #6, but on opposite sides of the ball, is this Bryan Harsin setting up some buffoonery on special teams this season? Stay tuned.
• Jabari is excited