The Auburn Tigers have several key players who are expected to make a massive impact on college football this year, and though Byrum Brown and Xavier Atkins may be the first to jump to mind, the Tigers have two players who could not only dominate this season but also earn a prestigious award along the way.
Those two players? Chas Nimrod and Champ Anthony, both of whom were named to the Comeback Player of the Year preseason watchlist on Thursday.
For long-time Auburn fans, Anthony's inclusion on this list is likely not surprising. The safety has consistently been one of Auburn's top culture leaders over the past few seasons, while seeming to bring 110% of what he has on any given play.
What makes Anthony eligible for this award, though, is not his top-level energy, leadership or production. Rather, it is the fact that since transferring from junior college back in 2023, Anthony has logged just one full season in an Auburn uniform - his first season - as he has been racked with injuries throughout his time on the Plains.
In 2024, Anthony laid down one of the biggest hits ever seen in Jordan-Hare against Arkansas, which had the crowd massively excited for his potential impact (no pun intended), but he then broke his leg on the next play, resulting in him missing the season.
In 2025, Anthony broke his thumb in the Tigers' season opener against Baylor, returned for the Tigers' matchups with Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Missouri and Georgia before sustaining yet another leg injury against Kentucky, which ultimately kept him out for the rest of the season.
Anthony has proven to be a consistent, high-energy option when available, so if he is able to stay healthy this season and turn in a strong statistical year, he could very easily have a strong case to be the nation's best comeback player in 2026.
On the other side of the ball, a new name on the Plains is eligible for the same award: Chas Nimrod. Nimrod, who transferred over from USF last season, missed most of the 2025 year with a leg injury, not unlike Anthony's injury.
Nimrod missed seven games last season with this injury, but still managed to haul in 23 Byrum Brown passes for 466 yards and three touchdowns, averaging a whopping 20.3 yards per reception, which will almost certainly continue to prove useful to Golesh and his offensive coordinators, Joel Gordon and Kodi Burns.
Brown has already forecast Nimrod to break 1,000 yards in this upcoming season alone, so if the fifth-year can meet those expectations, it would be hard to deny his case to be the best comeback player in 2026-provided, of course, Anthony does not have a career season as well.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/auburn as Champ Anthony, Chas Nimrod Named to Exclusive Award Watchlist .
