A Defense to Remember!

The line featured a pair of All-SEC talents.
(Photo by Acid Reign.)

     War Eagle, everybody! This morning, we’ll take a look back at the 2016 Auburn defense. Since the departure of coach Tommy Tuberville, every season Tiger fans have hoped for a respectable defense, and instead dubious records on the defensive side of the ball have been the norm, most years. The best defense Auburn fielded before 2016 in that era, was the 2010 squad, that gave up 24.0 yards per game. The 2016 defense allowed only 15.6 points per game.

     What is truly remarkable about this past season’s defense is that they got the job done even when the offense had long stretches of futility. One must hearken back to the days of middle Dye and Tuberville years to see averages like those posted this season against Auburn. In this day of offenses that routinely post more than 30 points per game, the 15.6 point average is remarkable.

     A good defense has always begun with a stout defensive line. Auburn’s Carl Lawson and Montravius Adams both made this season’s All-SEC team, but the line’s strength went way beyond that pair. Recording stats on the Auburn line aside from the two starts were Marlon Davidson, Dontavius Russell, Maurice Swain, Devaroe Lawrence, Andrew Williams, Jeffrey Holland, Derrick Brown, Byron Cowart, Paul James, Gary Walker, and Tyler Carter. That is 13 different defensive linemen that got into games and made tackles. This allowed Auburn to be effective on defense well into the 4^th quarter. Auburn only gave up 35 4^th quarter points all season, an average of just 2.5 points per game.

     Coming into this season, the linebacker position was a great worry. There was little experience returning at the position, beyond Tre’ Williams, who had been mostly a second-teamer. Prior to this past season, if you had told me that Williams was going to miss a chunk of the season, I’d have been pretty certain we were going to give up close to 30 points a game, again. Instead, a host of play-making linebackers emerged. Tre’ Williams did lead the linebackers in total tackles, with 63. That mark was second on the team, overall. Joining Williams in the linebacking corps were Deshaun Davis (55), Darrell Williams (49), T. J. Neal (29), and Montravius Atkinson (25 total tackles).

     The depth movement continued into the secondary. Safety Tray Matthews led the team in tackles with 73. Others adding tackles in the secondary were Jonathan Ford (59), Stephen Roberts (49), Carlton Davis (42), Javaris Davis (32), Nick Ruffin (27), Joshua Holsey (25) and Daniel Thomas (15). The secondary contributed 10 interceptions and 46 pass breakups. The secondary was a great overall safety net, which helped keep scores down. Auburn gave up only 34 plays of more than 20 yards, all season. That’s an average of just 2.8 such plays per game.

     There were many defensive superlatives this season. Auburn allowed just 3.6 yards per rush, and allowed only 5 rushing touchdowns. Through the air, opponents managed just 6.1 yards per pass, and scored 12 touchdowns. Auburn got off the field well on third down, with opponents converting just 34 percent of the time. Teams that made it into the Auburn red zone managed touchdowns just 34 percent of the time.

     The future looks bright for this defense, as well. Out of the two-deep playing rotation, the only seniors on the defense are Joshua Holsey, Jonathan Ford, TJ Neal, Maurice Swain, Devaroe Lawrence, and Montravius Adams. Junior Carl Lawson will likely declare for the NFL draft, as well. Even with these departures, Auburn will have a stocked and loaded defense next season.

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