Cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett expected to return to Auburn for one more season
AUBURN — Nehemiah Pritchett is expected to return to Auburn for one more season, sources tell Auburn Live.
The senior cornerback just finished his fourth season on the Plains, but due to the additional year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to Covid, he will play one more for the Tigers.
Pritchett finished last season with eight pass breakups and 37 total tackles. Pritchett’s 676 total snaps played was the fourth-highest snap-count total among Auburn defenders, according to Pro Football Focus. And with Owen Pappoe (first) and Derick Hall (third) departing the program, that means only D.J. James returns having played more defensive snaps than Pritchett last season.
James is also spurning the NFL and returning to Auburn for one more season.
With Pritchett’s return, Auburn’s top five returning players on defense according to overall grades per Pro Football Focus would all be secondary players in James, Donovan Kaufman, Keionte Scott, Jaylin Simpson and Pritchett.
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His decision to return is an ideal example of the benefits of Name, Image, Likeness, in particular the benefits of Auburn’s main collective, On To Victory.
Nehemiah Pritchett now has the ability to return to school, improve his draft stock while getting further development from secondary coaches Zac Etheridge and Wesley McGriff, and he can do it all with a little less pressure on his immediate financial future because of NIL opportunities.
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Pritchett’s best game last season came against Western Kentucky, in which he allowed just three receptions on nine targets, including two pass breakups. His second-best game in coverage came at Ole Miss, allowing zero receptions on three targets, including one pass breakup and two tackles.
