Auburn football coaching staff retains important staff member

Good news for Auburn Tiger football fans. Defensive back coach Zac Etheridge, who was a candidate for the same position with the Georgia Bulldogs, is staying at Auburn, sources told On3’s Matt Zenitz on Saturday night. Last season, Etheridge coached All-American corner Roger McCreary and established himself as one of the top recruiters in the SEC.

Etheridge was a team captain on Auburn’s 2010 national championship team. He led the team with 75 tackles in 2008. The 2021-2022 season was his first year coaching the defensive backs with the Tigers. He also spent the previous two seasons coaching the defensive backs for the Houston Cougars.

The coaching news comes just a day after the Tigers officially announced that their head football coach Bryan Harsin would be returning for the 2022 season. The program had to deal with turmoil and rumors over the past few weeks, so it’s certainly nice to have more stability and clarity within their coaching staff.

Roger McCreary was one of the nation’s best

The former Auburn star established himself as one of the nation’s premiere cover corners the past few years. Per PFF, McCreary had 20 pass breakups when playing press coverage since 2019. That’s good enough for the second most in the nation during that time frame. First was Cincinnati defensive back Coby Bryant with 23 pass breakups.

One of McCreary’s most impressive performances of this season came in the Iron Bowl against Alabama on Nov. 27, when he had four pass breakups against Jameson Williams. He also followed Williams for more than 75 percent of the game.

The Alabama star wide receiver was ejected for targeting in the second quarter, but there’s no question McCreary’s elite performance was a big reason why the Crimson Tide offense was held scoreless in the first half.

During the 2021-2022 season for Auburn, McCreary racked up 49 tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions, one sack, and 14 pass breakups. His 14 pass breakups put him in a tie for fourth in the nation.

He dominated during Senior Bowl practices recently in Mobile, Alabama and was voted the top cornerback for the American team.