Joseph Maiorana – USA TODAY Sports
The Auburn Tigers have taken great strides this offseason to improve their porous defense from 2014. They started by bringing back Will Muschamp to lead the group that ranked near the bottom of the SEC in most statistical categories. And now, there is more help on the way with the news that former Michigan Wolverines defensive back Blake Countess will be joining the Tigers in 2015 as a graduate transfer.
Countess was a pretty important part of the Michigan defense in recent years, starting 30 games as a Wolverine and making All-Big Ten honorable mention last season after posting 24 tackles and three pass breakups a year ago. He has 114 career tackles in three seasons with 19 passes defended, including six interceptions in 2013 when he was named All-Big Ten first-team.
He will join an Auburn secondary that was a major weakness in 2014 and compete for a starting job right away. Last season, the Tigers ranked No. 12 in the SEC in pass defense and gave up the second-most pass plays of 50 yards or more (6) in the conference. Their inability to hold up against the pass was a serious liability and a major reason why the Tigers failed to defend their SEC title in 2014.
Their secondary suffered further this offseason with the transfer of three defensive backs out of the Auburn program. With Countess, the Tigers offset a bit of that loss as the former Wolverine joins former Georgia Bulldogs defensive back Tray Matthews, who sat out the 2014 season due to NCAA transfer rules, in adding new blood to the Auburn defense in 2015.
Solidifying the secondary had to be one of Gus Malzahn‘s top priorities this offseason as the Tigers look to get back into the SEC title chase in 2015. Adding the talent and experience of a player like Blake Countess should give the Tigers a push in right direction and make them a serious contender for the conference crown next season.
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