The biggest storyline for each Auburn representative at SEC Media Days

Talking season is officially upon us.

SEC Media Days kicks off next Monday, July 18th in Atlanta. Bryan Harsin and the Auburn Tigers don't officially take the podium until the final day of the event (Thursday).

We have plenty of time to speculate over how the Tigers are going to be approached, and what the outlook will be following the trip to the ATL.

Here is the biggest storyline for each Auburn representative at SEC Media Days.

How heavily will Auburn lean on Tank Bigsby?

Last preseason, Auburn verbally committed to establishing the ground game and utilizing their most valuable offensive asset (running back Tank Bigsby) early and often. They proved concept after rushing for 862 yards over the first three games of the season (287.3 yards per game).

They ran for 1,234 yards for the final ten games of the year (123.4). The walk into conference play was rough for the Tigers. Bigsby struggled as well (averaging 75 rushing yards per attempt in SEC play).

Once again, Bryan Harsin & Co. have put their eggs in the ground game basket. Will Tank Bigsby get the touches he needs to carry the offense? Or will Auburn stray away from Bigsby because of the offensive line's inefficiencies run blocking?

How often will Auburn have to turn to the tight ends?

Auburn's tight ends were big in 2021 after being seldom used under previous head coach Gus Malzahn. John Samuel Shenker, the leader of the core and the Auburn single-season leader in tight end receptions is back for his sixth and final season on the Plains.

Because of the inexperience in the receiver room, its plausible that Auburn turns to Shenker, Landen King, and the variety of other weapons in the tight end room as legitimate pass-catching options in 2022.

In the end, if the Tigers do throw to the position more often, it may not be because they have to, but because they want to. It's one of the deepest units on the team.

It will be interesting to see if Shenker can break his own receptions record.

What will Derick Hall and the defensive line do for an encore?

After racking up nine sacks in 2021, Derick Hall is in position to record double-digit sacks, a feat no Auburn player has accomplished since 2017 (Jeff Holland).

But, will Hall get the chance to break that double-digit barrier?

The Tigers return a fair amount of talent around Hall, and should rotate often to keep things fresh. It's clear Hall is one of if not Auburn's best edge rusher, but because of the rotation of Eku Leota, Colby Wooden, Dylan Brooks, and Marcus Bragg needing touches, it will be interesting to see if Hall can make a statistical jump and work his way up NFL Draft boards.

Keep in mind that three of Hall's nine sacks came against Alabama.

How is Harsin going to turn things around?

Harsin had five straight losses to end the 2021 season after starting 6-2. The ensuing offseason booster debacle following the bowl loss to Houston was distracting, embarrassing, bad for recruiting, and damaging - not only for Harsin's image, but the program's image.

He's on most preseason hot seat lists, and with question marks up and down the roster there's reason to believe that the Tigers may struggle to reach the amount of wins it would take to retain Harsin.

What is he going to do to turn things around?

Most fans believe it starts in two places: quarterback and offensive line. If Harsin can get quarterback right and focus on improving the run game... Auburn is more than capable of surprising some teams.

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