One of the primary questions for Auburn in the preseason is whether the Tigers can develop a more consistent receiving threat opposite their one star performer, Sammie Coates.
The answer might have begun to take form Wednesday.
"Duke's role is get him the ball," Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashley said of D'haquille "Duke" Williams, according to montgomeryadvertiser.com. "He's a playmaker."
That's the sort of praise generally reserved for seniors, or at least star veterans, like Coates. But Williams is a newcomer as a heavily-recruited junior college transfer. Then, this video surfaced of Williams making an astounding one-handed snag of a practice pass:
So which catch is better -- Williams' grab, or the one-hander we brought you Tuesday by Ole Miss sophomore Laquon Treadwell? There definitely appeared to be more velocity on the Bo Wallace pass thrown to Treadwell, although Williams gets a few points for turning over a shoulder to catch the above snag of a Nick Marshall pass.
An additional dangerous wide receiver could greatly impact Marshall's improvement as a passer this season, so the news of Williams' progress could foretell a big season for Marshall as a Heisman Trophy candidate. Coates established himself as one of the SEC's elite receivers last year, hauling in 42 catches for 902 yards for an average of 21.5 per catch. That production represented about 40 percent of Auburn's 2,422 passing yards for the season.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread.*
