How Auburn football WR coach Marcus Davis assesses his players before spring practice

AUBURN — As Auburn football quarterback Nick Marshall scanned the field on third-and-16 against Arkansas State on Sept. 7, 2013, his eyes locked onto freshman receiver Marcus Davis.

Davis hauled in the pass and paid for it as a defensive back collided with him on his way to the ground. It was his first catch in an Auburn uniform, a touchdown as part of a 38-7 win over the Red Wolves in a season that would eventually end in the BCS National Championship against Florida State.

Less than 10 years later, Davis is back as a coach, guiding players at the position he once played in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Throughout Davis' playing career, former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn told him he'd one day end up in the profession, but the former three-star recruit out of Florida wasn't buying it.

"I didn't believe it at the time because you're just so focused on the process of being the best player you can be," Davis told reporters earlier this month. "When I took the time to look back on things, now that I'm sitting where I am now, I see exactly what he was saying. I'm glad I chose this career. It's been good. And the best part about it is you get to pour into younger guys who have similar goals to what you have."

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Davis, 28, now leads a position group that was anything but prolific in 2022; not a single receiver registered over 500 yards, and Ja'Varrius Johnson (493) and Koy Moore (314) were the only players to have over 300. Auburn's receivers only accounted for six touchdowns last season.

Aside from an incoming freshman − four-star Daquayvious Sorey − the Tigers only added one player at the position: Cincinnati transfer Nick Mardner. Mardner caught 19 passes for 218 yards with the Bearcats in 2022; a season before that at Hawaii, he pulled in 46 balls for 913 yards and five touchdowns.

His position coach with the Rainbow Warriors? None other than Davis.

"The biggest thing I would say is he's a guy who brings a combination of size and speed," Davis said of Mardner, who announced his transfer to Auburn in January. "He's every bit of 6-5, and he can run. That's something he definitely can bring to the room.

"And we've got other guys in the room that can do some things as well that probably didn't have the opportunity. The biggest thing for me is getting everybody together, getting them on the same page. Because competition is going to bring the best out in everybody."

Davis brings up some players that didn't have much opportunity last season. The Tigers added three receivers in the Class of 2022 in Omari Kelly, Jay Fair and Camden Brown. Brown played 27.5% of Auburn's offensive snaps a season ago, while Kelly (9.2%) and Fair (8.2%) saw significantly less.

"All of them have a unique personality," Davis said of the trio. "I like being around those guys. The biggest thing for me is that they're all hungry. They all want to be coached, they all want to be involved and around. That's the start; once you have that, you don't have to pull that out of people. That's a sign of a good thing. I'm just excited to finally get going with them in the spring, get on the field and learn more about them."

Auburn begins spring practice on Monday and will finish with A-Day on April 8.

"It's a dream for me," Davis said of returning to his alma mater as a coach. "It truly is. I didn't know it would happen this quick. ... It's a different type of focus because you want this place to be good because it's special to you. So, it drives you to work a little harder, to do the extra mile because you want to be great."

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: New Auburn football receivers coach Marcus Davis assesses spring lineup