Auburn entered spring practice with a loaded, deep and experienced wide receiving corps, but that depth is being tested.
According to a report from AL.com, rising senior deep threat Will Hastings suffered a torn ACL during Saturday's scrimmage and underwent successful surgery this week.
The 5-foot-10, 167-pound former walk-on kicker -- yes, kicker -- made the switch to wide receiver early in his Auburn career. A rising senior from Little Rock, Hastings emerged as a deep threat out of the slot during the 2017 season. During last year's run to the SEC West championship, Hastings caught 26 passes for 525 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 20.19 yards per reception.
His quickness and ability to get out of breaks deep downfield made him one of quarterback Jarrett Stidham's primary threats deep over the middle of the field.
The injury to Hastings comes on the heels of the ACL injury that befell Eli Stove earlier this spring. Stove is one of the Tigers' primary threats on jet sweeps and bubble screens.
Auburn still has plenty of depth and experience at wide receiver, with leading receiver/speedster Ryan Davis and outside threats Darius Slayton and Nate Craig-Myers. But Auburn's offense does depend on wide receivers settling into roles and those wide receivers doing dirty work by blocking in the run-heavy spread. Now two of those key wide receivers in established roles will be out for the foreseeable future.
Auburn opens the 2018 season on Sept. 1 in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta vs. Washington.
