Auburn football: Five players with the most to gain during fall camp

T-minus four weeks.

Auburn has four weeks to get the fundamentals down. 28 days to get everything down, refined, and ready to go for the September 3rd matchup with Mercer.

On top of detailing the nuances of the system, playbook, and terminology, Auburn's coaching staff has a lot of questions to answer at several spots across the starting 22. One of those spots being arguably the most important- quarterback. With the pressure surrounding the program, and the expectations for success, they can't afford to miss.

Four weeks is plenty of time to figure it out, right?

Two days into camp and we're already seeing the effects of the summer on the two-deep rotation. There are surprises, known commodities, and some interesting stories surrounding players who are officially being given a shot to show their capabilities.

Here are five players who have the most to gain from these next four weeks of fall camp.

Kam Stutts, OL

Stutts was one of the few surprises in Auburn's rotation during day one of fall camp, working with the first-team at left guard over veteran Brandon Council. He's been a reserve lineman for going on four seasons now, but the 6-foot-5, 339 pound guard has apparently impressed not just the coaching staff, but also his fellow teammates.

Right tackle Austin Troxell spoke to the media on Friday and praised Stutts for his work ethic and his quickness off the ball.

Council, the incumbent at LG, has suffered from various injuries throughout his career and has struggled to stay on the field.

If Stutts wants to earn a starting spot, he's put himself in a great position already during these early days of camp.

Dylan Brooks, DE

Auburn's talent at EDGE this season is strong, but their depth is thin. To help, the Tigers went out and got Marcus Bragg from Western Kentucky to round-out the two deep.

However, he's not the only player Auburn is going to have to rely on. Dylan Brooks, a redshirt freshman defensive end, is going to be asked to contribute.

"Asked" is a pretty weak term. According to fellow EDGE Derick Hall, Brooks doesn't have a choice. Dylan will step up.

“He has no choice,” Hall said. “I am being serious. We got Marcus in the transfer portal, who is looking really good. Besides Marcus, Dylan has no choice. You can’t play two or three guys the whole year."

Brooks has to capitalize on the opportunity that has fallen into his lap. A former high four-star with solid size (6-foot-5, 232 pounds) can't go to waste given the depth concerns for Auburn.

Tar'Varish Dawson, WR

According to several reports, Dawson has shown out during camp and has impressed throughout the spring. On the first day of camp, he was working with the first-team... interesting considering Ja'Varrius Johnson, one of Auburn's primary slot receivers from a year ago, is healthy and working with the second-team offense.

According to offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau, Dawson is “the most improved young player on the entire offense.” That's saying something, considering Auburn has several young receivers that are trying to break into the rotation this fall.

The Tigers need playmakers to step up in the receiver room. Could Dawson be one of them?

Cam Riley, LB

404 tackles, 28.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks.

That is the combined production that Auburn is losing with the departures of linebackers Zakoby McClain and Chandler Wooten. The Tigers need to replace it, and fast.

Thankfully former five-star linebacker Owen Pappoe is back to anchor the unit. Outside of him, Auburn has some older players, but none who have seen a ton of meaningful reps. Among them stands Cam Riley, a massive junior linebacker (6-foot-5, 230 pounds) who is the current favorite to start alongside Pappoe.

First-team reps were his at the beginning of fall camp, but it will be interesting to watch how many of those reps stay his at the end. North Carolina transfer Eugene Asante and fellow junior 'backer Wesley Steiner will push for more time with the ones.

Much like Dylan Brooks, Riley has been given the opportunity, now he has to take advantage of his situation.

Zach Calzada, QB

After getting to watch Auburn's quarterbacks work in person, there are certain little mechanical things I noticed about their drop backs, footwork, and delivery. Hopefully there's a little more polish added before the season opener against Mercer.

None of those mechanical quirks deterred me from being impressed with Zach Calzada.

His arm, while not the most consistent, set itself apart from the other QBs. Calzada's drop backs are a little "toesy" at times, which leads to inconsistent bases and too much reliance on the upper body when trying to set up to drive the ball downfield. In Calzada's case, the inconsistencies in his progression don't really matter considering his arm strength. He's still getting the ball out quickly. Timing and accuracy are minor concerns, but more work with the receivers in camp should help with that.

TJ Finley has primarily been working with the first-team, but Calzada should be working his way up to splitting reps with him as fall camp goes on.

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