The Auburn Tigers are coming off a season in which they were defending BCS National Champions.  These were very high expectations for a team that was just one season removed from losing Heisman winning quarterback Cam Newton to the NFL; not to mention that they are pinned against the best competition in the entire country in the SEC’s West division.  The SEC West has featured 4 of the last 5 National Champions and considering Auburn had an overall record of 8-5, their 4-4 conference record displays the SEC’s true depth.  Here are just a few of the players we are very excited to see step on to the field for Auburn this fall.

Auburn has a very deep recruiting class this year with 5 of their recruits being graded by ESPN as 83 or above.  Leading the 2013 class is Carl Lawson, a 6 foot 2, 251 pound defensive end who is currently 5^th in the ESPN top 150.  Lawson is the second highest rated player at his position and should prove to be a vital asset for future Auburn teams.  Following him will be Dee Liner and Tashawn Bower who are both defensive lineman.  Liner is a hefty Defensive tackle that should see many double teams when he has reached his full size and potential.  Bower is a defensive end, however is far quicker and a little smaller than Lawson which should provide versatility for Auburn’s defensive front.

The next recruit is an inside linebacker named Trey Johnson who is being talked about very positively in most Auburn circles.  At 6 foot 1, 215 pounds he may be bounced out to an outside linebacker or possibly even a defensive back position due to his athleticism.  Rounding out the top 5 recruits will be the top offensive recruit for Auburn, Earnest Robinson.  Robinson has great size at 6 foot 2 and shouldn’t get pushed around with his very solid weight of 200 pounds.  He is known for having phenomenal hands and turned down scholarship offers from fellow SEC West teams such as Alabama, LSU and Arkansas.  With the young talent Auburn has compiled they should be a serious contender in the SEC West in the very near future.

This year’s success could depend on the play of starting quarterback Barrett Trotter.  Trotter split time last year, though he was the primary starter and showed much more production during his time under the helm.  In the 2012 season he totaled 1,184 yards and 11 touch downs.  No one is expecting him to be Cam Newton, but if he can control the flow of the game his numbers should significantly increase with running back Michael Dyer no longer attending the University.

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3. Takeo Spikes 1995-1997, Linebacker

One of the most effortless tacklers college football has ever seen, Takeo Spikes begins are best of list at the #3 spot.  Spikes played 3 seasons for the Tigers and was drafted #13 overall in the 1997 NFL Draft by the Bengals.  He has also played with the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles San Francisco 49ers and currently the San Diego Chargers and is a 2 time Pro-Bowl and All-Pro selection in the NFL.  After playing alongside fellow Auburn great running back Stephen Davis for the past two seasons, Spikes had an outstanding final season at Auburn, leading their ferocious defense with 136 tackles which is the 9^th most for a single season at Auburn.  Arguably the best line backer to ever wear an Auburn uniform Takeo Spikes comes in as the third greatest Auburn Tiger football player in the school’s storied legacy.

2. Bo Jackson 1982-1985, Running Back

Undoubtedly the greatest running back to ever wear a Tiger uniform, Bo Jackson has made quite possibly the largest impact on the sports world that any other Auburn alum could claim.  A two-time All American and the schools second ever Heisman Trophy winner, Jackson has one of the most decorated careers ever in College Football.  The pinnacle of his career came in 1985 as he ran for a school record 1.786 yards; winning the Heisman trophy and the Walter Camp Award in that season and finishing his Auburn career with 4,303 rushing yards, once again being the highest total in school history which led to his #34 jersey number being retired.  Jackson is unique in that he went on to play 2 sports professionally, both football and baseball playing for the Los Angeles Raiders of the NFL and playing for the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox and California Angels of the MLB.  Bo Jackson is undeniably one of the greatest athletes of all time.

1. Cam Newton, 2010 Quarterback

After a Sophomore year that had Cam Newton backing up a guy you may or may not be familiar with at the University of Florida, Tim Tebow, and a successful junior year at Blinn College in Texas Cam Newton found himself at the University of Auburn with just one year of eligibility left to prove to NFL scouts how good he really is.  And Cam did just that, throwing for over 2,500 yards for 30 touchdowns and running for a remarkable 1,473 yards and 20 touchdowns.  Cam proved to be the perfect combination of running and throwing quarterback confirming this by leading the Tigers to a BCS National Championship victory over the Oregon Ducks 22-19.  Cam was drafted by the Carolina Panthers last year and continued his excellence shattering almost every rookie quarterback record previously set.  Cam went onto the win the Heisman trophy and a National Championship in 2010 making him the greatest Auburn Tiger ever.

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LSU Football has been a twentieth century dynasty, becoming the first team to win multiple BCS Championships (2004, 2008) until Florida matched their win total, as well as competing in last year’s championship game against Alabama.  Though they lost to their SEC rival, the Tigers are looking to bounce back in a strong way.  Returning such stars as Heisman Finalist “The Honey Badger” Tyrann Mathieu as well as Odell Beckham who is coming off a strong true freshman season asserting himself as the most reliable receiver on last year’s squad have coach Les Miles and his staff feeling very confident about the 2012 season.  Coach Miles has stayed predominantly in state in his 2013 recruiting class having his first nine verbal commitments coming from Louisiana natives.  However, the last two commitments have been out of state and recently joining them is wide receiver Quantavious Leslie from Hinds (Miss.) Community College with big potential standing at 6 foot 4 and with great speed at a 4.44 forty yard dash time.  Though LSU has not landed any recruits from the ESPNU top 150, they feel very optimistic with a team that just a few months ago was competing for the national championship.

The Tigers are looking to rebound after last year’s 21-0 loss to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game, though they defeated Alabama earlier that year in an overtime thriller 9-6.  Although the Tigers lost stand-outs such as Maurice Claiborne and Jordan Jefferson to the NFL Draft, the LSU coaching staff is not expecting to miss a beat come this fall. The Tigers are returning a lot of fire power as shown by the Pre-season All SEC team which named offensive tackle Alex Hurst, defensive end Sam Montgomery, safety Eric Reid, punter Brad Wing and Tyrann Mathieu as both a cornerback and a punt returner.  Quarterback Zach Mettenberger looks to lead the LSU offense this year and things look promising with wide outs such as Odell Beckham Jr. and new recruit Chuck Baker who will be a deep threat all year for Coach Miles.

The 2012 schedule opens up with three straight non-conference home games.  The toughest opponent in these three games will be September 8^th against Washington who is led by Junior Quarterback Keith Price.  Price is in the pre-season Heisman discussion after his performance in last year’s shootout with the Baylor Bears in the Alamo Bowl.  The Tigers then go on to play division foe Auburn on the road that is coming off of a disappointing season defending their 2011 BCS National Championship victory.  Conference games at Florida and the championship game rematch against Alabama will prove to be the true indicators of who will control the SEC this upcoming season.

Ultimately, LSU should control their own destiny this season with what looks to be undoubtedly the most complete team competing in the SEC this year.

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