16 college football greats who’d lead their former team to the 2017 title
By Zach Bigalke
With most of last year’s offense returning, Gus Malzahn has the experienced roster that could make waves in the SEC West this season. Auburn also adds transfer quarterback Jarrett Stidham, formerly of Baylor, to what could be a high-scoring attack. Stidham could be just what the passing attack needs to recover from a 112th-place showing in 2016.
Thus the question falls to exactly what Auburn’s defense needs to contend for the SEC title in 2016. The Tigers fielded a relatively strong defense to advance to the Sugar Bowl last year. They were hit hard by losses on that side of the ball, though, especially in the secondary. Given the importance of the last level in the team’s 4-2-5 defense, Auburn would benefit immensely from the opportunity to call upon an all-time great.
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For the Tigers, there was no greater cornerback than Carlos Rogers. A four-year starter on the Plains, Rogers was part of the undefeated 2004 team that was shut out of the BCS title game. That year he won the Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the country and was also a consensus All-America selection. If Malzahn could call upon Rogers to bolster his defense, a title would be much closer in reach.