Auburn Lands 2 on SEC's Top-10 Wide Receiver List

Ever since head coach Hugh Freeze landed as head coach of the Auburn Tigers, upgrading the talent on the thread-bare roster has been his first focus. He’s hit the transfer portal and the high school ranks equally hard, and both look to bear fruit this fall - especially at wide receiver.

The Tigers placed two players on Saturday Down South’s (SDS) list of top-10 wide receivers in the SEC, including one transfer and one homegrown recruit.

Georgia Tech transfer Erich Singleton Jr. looks to step into the shoes vacated by Los Angeles Chargers fifth-round pick KeAndre Lambert-Smith who led the Tigers in receptions, yards, and touchdowns in 2024.

Singleton checks in at No. 9 in a receiver group that SDS calls “one of the best in the country.

"Singleton’s performance in the regular-season finale against Georgia was a massive reason why Georgia Tech played roughly a million overtimes in Athens,” wrote Connor O'Gara on SDS. “What’ll benefit Singleton more at Auburn is that he has a true outside complement in Cam Coleman, so he should see plenty of mismatches in coverage. That could lead to him becoming Auburn’s first 1,000-yard receiver of the 21st century."

Just like what Lambert-Smith brought to the table last year, Singleton should really help new quarterback Jackson Arnold bed in. Having Singleton and Coleman on the outside should give Jackson a pair of receivers who can really compliment each other - opposing teams may even come to fear the Tigers passing game at long last.

Singleton was the No. 1 ranked wide receiver to enter the portal for a reason; his tape strongly suggests that he will be heavily involved in the Freeze offense moving forward.

Coleman provides the most upside for coach Freeze nevertheless, after all, the talented 18-year-old has all the physical gifts required to excel at the collegiate level and the pros beyond that.

O'Gara certainly rates Coleman highly, placing him a close No. 2 on the list behind Alabama’s Ryan Williams.

“I’m all in on Coleman,” admitted O’Gara. “I’m so all in on Coleman that we did a draft of non-QB Heisman candidates on The Saturday Down South Podcast, and I took him as one of my 5 selections. Why? Coleman might’ve gotten off to a slow start, but he finished his true freshman season on a tear. In his last 3 games, he had 22 catches for 306 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns.”

O’Gara recognized the obstacles Coleman faced early in his career at Auburn, and the two big ones should be well behind him.

“He and Ryan Williams both finished with 8 touchdown grabs,” O’Gara continued. “No SEC true freshman wide receiver has had more than that since Amari Cooper in 2012. Mind you, that was with an early-season shoulder injury and Payton Thorne throwing him passes. Call me crazy, but Coleman should be in an even better spot in 2025.”

Of course, much will still hinge on how Coleman continues to grow and learn, and Arnold will have to rebound much stronger from the confidence and turnover issues which derailed his career at Oklahoma.

Clearly Coleman did come on strongly as last season wore on, so what he can do with more competent levels of quarterback play is pretty exciting to consider.

Most observers would agree that Coleman simply jumps off the game tape and unquestionably looks to have that unique NFL type skill set at his disposal.

Should Coleman have that big breakout season O'Gara is predicting, the Tigers chances of posting their first winning campaign under the Freeze tenureship of course greatly increases.

Even so, it's time for potential to finally be converted into production.