John Samuel

Shenker

Shenker (6'4/249) announced his intent to return to Auburn via his Instagram account, which is an encouraging sign for a team that has already lost its 2021 starting quarterback to the transfer portal. This season, Shenker caught 33 passes for 413 yards for the Tigers, but failed to find the end zone on any of his 46 targets. Strangely, Shenker did not score a touchdown in the 2020 season, but could have a chance to find pay dirt as a Tiger again in 2022.

Cox was an extremely productive player for the Tigers as both a blocker and receiver, and Shenker “emerged as the leader” according to Ferguson. It’s important to note, however, that Arizona State transfer Jay Jay Wilson isn’t on campus just yet, and he’s certainly going to push for the job. There’s also Tyler Fromm, Georgia QB Jake’s younger brother, and Ferguson calls him the top receiving option. Shenker will have to earn that starting spot, for sure.

That’s because Shenker projects to play multiple positions -- H-back, tight end and wide receiver-- just like the late Lutzenkirchen. “His versatility is what stood out to us. Of course, we kept up with him throughout the year and when Chip got here, that was the first guy he went to see,” Malzahn said of Shenker. “He reminds him of Philip (Lutzenkirchen), reminds me of Philip. Got the same kind of skill set, that you can split him out, you can put his hand down, you can put him at H-back, and he’s physical enough at the point of attack to be effective.” The three-star Shenker was the No. 77 tight end in this cycle, according to 247Sports.