Auburn briefing: Three newcomers to watch for vs UMass

The Tigers have a plethora of newcomers on both sides of the ball this season.

With Hugh Freeze and his staff having hit the transfer portal as hard as they did, fans should expect to see a number of new faces starting across the board.

Here are three newcomers to watch out for when Auburn plays UMass this Saturday:

Shane Hooks

Hooks was Coach Deion Sanders and Jackson State's leading receiver in 2022, reeling in 64 passes for 748 yards and ten touchdowns.

He played 711 snaps on the outside while only playing 11 snaps in the slot.

He's turned heads throughout fall camp, making some impressive catches and playing physical football.

Hooks may not be an every-down receiver, but he could be on the receiving end of some big plays this weekend.

Rivaldo Fairweather

Fairweather was an extremely reliable target at FIU and has certainly looked like one of Auburn's go-to guys during practice.

Hugh Freeze has been known to produce some high-quality pass catching tight ends... Fairweather may be the next man up. Look for Thorne to get comfortable early vs UMass with some easy pitches to Fairweather.

Austin Keys

The Tigers' new starting middle linebacker should provide an immediate boost to what was a poor position group a season ago.

If Auburn's run support is going to be better, Keys will be a part of its improvement. Watch for No. 12 on defense to make some solid plays at the line of scrimmage against the Minutemen's rushing attack.

They said it:

Auburn linebacker Eugene Asante will step into a much larger role this season after only playing four games in 2022.

Asante gave a lot of credit to the Tigers' strength and conditioning staff during a Monday press conference.

"Physically, I've grown in terms of building my body up," Asante said. "I can't thank Coach Dom (Studzinski) and his staff enough. They do a really good job and oftentimes they deflect how good their program is. From a defensive standpoint, I've grown in terms of trying to understand why defensive coordinators call what they call."

We wrote it:

Shel Hickman of Auburn Daily put together a breakdown of the Tigers' linebacker room, making the case as to why each player can have a great season.

You can read the breakdown here.

Auburn takes on UMass in their season opener this Saturday, September 2nd at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. You can check out betting odds here.