Auburn football all-time roster: Defensive starters and backups

We recently laid out the all-time roster on offense for the Auburn Tigers, now we shift our sights to the defensive side of the ball.

This is where we will find names such as Takeo Spikes, Nick Fairly, Zeke Smith, and Kevin Greene among others. Plenty of talented defenders have called Jordan-Hare Stadium their home in Auburn history.

We break down the two-deep roster for Auburn on the defensive side of the ball. Which legends made the cut?

See the all-time Auburn offense here.

Check out our other College Wire all-time defenses: Alabama / Clemson / Colorado / Florida / Georgia / Iowa / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Nebraska / North Carolina / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / USC

Starting DE1: Reggie Torbor

Photo: Auburn Athletics

Reggie Torbor was a staple on defense during the early years of the Tommy Tuberville era. In four seasons, Torbor made 122 tackles, 32 were for loss, and 19 of those were sacks.

He would go on to enjoy a seven-year NFL career with three different teams. He was a member of the New York Giants Super Bowl-winning squad in 2008.

Starting DE2: Quentin Groves

Byron Hetzler-USA TODAY Sports

The late Quentin Groves lived in the opposition’s backfield during his time at Auburn. He recorded 26 sacks in his Auburn career, which is tied for the program with Gerald Robinson.

He played eight seasons in the NFL, making 175 total tackles.

Backup DE1: Corey Lemonier

Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

Corey Lemonier was the star of Auburn’s defense in the early part of the 2010s. In 2011, he made 47 tackles with 13.5 made for a loss, which earned him All-SEC honors.

He was the 88th  overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers and played four seasons with four teams.

Backup DE2: Nosa Eguae

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The man given the nickname of “No Way Nosa” by the late Rod Bramblett played through one of the strangest periods of Auburn Football history. Eguae played in 53 games from the span of 2010-13, which means that he played for two BCS National Championships, as well as suffered a 3-9 season in 2012.

In four seasons, he recorded 105 tackles, with 21 of those being for loss.

Starting DT1: Tracy Rocker

Photo by: Allen Steele/Getty Images

In 1988, Tracy Rocker became the first player in SEC history to win both the Lombardi Trophy, as well as the Outland Trophy in the same season.

During his career at Auburn, Rocker recorded 354 total tackles, with 48 tackles for loss and 21 sacks. He was a member of the All-SEC team three times, and was an All-American twice. He was a part of Auburn’s SEC Championship teams in 1987 and 1988.

Starting DT2: Nick Fairley

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Fairley was a fierce defensive lineman during his time at Auburn. During Auburn’s National Championship season in 2010, Fairley made 60 tackles with an astonishing 24 of those being for a loss, and 11.5 of those going as a sack.

He currently stands alone as Auburn’s career single-season sack leader after his amazing 2010 season.

Backup DT1: Zeke Smith

Zeke Smith was a key member of one of Auburn Football’s greatest teams. He won the Outland Trophy, as well as was named an All-American in 1958. A year prior, Smith was a member of Auburn’s first National Championship team.

Backup DT2: Antonio Coleman

John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Offensive lineman had a hard time keeping Antonio Coleman out of the backfield during his Auburn career.

Coleman made 151 total tackles from 2006-09, with 46.5 of them being for a loss, as well as 24.5 sacks. He recorded double-digit tackles for loss during his final three seasons on the Plains and reached 10 sacks during his sophomore season on 2007.

Starting LB1: Takeo Spikes

Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

Even though his playing days are long over, Takeo Spikes is still one of the most menacing figures in Auburn history.

He is currently in 10th place on Auburn’s all-time tackles list with 335 career stops. Spikes was drafted 13th overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1998 NFL Draft, and would spend 15 seasons in the NFL, making 1,423 total tackles, and earning two Pro Bowl honors.

Starting LB2: Kevin Greene

Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images

One of the best linebackers in NFL history was almost a punter at Auburn. Kevin Greene attempted to walk onto the program in 1982 and made the team in 1983. He would play two seasons at Auburn, where he would win the SEC Defensive Player of the Year award at linebacker during the 1984 season, where he made 69 tackles with 11 sacks.

Greene went on to play 15 seasons in the NFL for four different franchises. He ended his career in 1999 following three Pro Bowl selections, made the first-team All-Pro three times, and became a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor.

Starting LB3: Aundray Bruce

Al Bello/Allsport

Bruce was an All-SEC selection in 1986 and 1987 and earned All-American honors in 1987. His best game in an Auburn uniform came in the 1987 Georgia Tech game, where he made 10 tackles and recorded three interceptions.

He became the third player from Auburn to be drafted first overall in 1988, and was the second player selected with the first overall pick over a two-year span (Bo Jackson, 1986). He played ten seasons in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons and the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders.

Backup LB1: Gregg Carr

Auburn football enjoyed success during the 1983 and 1984 seasons in part due to Bo Jackson carrying the football. However, on the other side of the football, Auburn had one of the best linebackers in the nation, Gregg Carr.

Carr made 275 stops over the two-season span and currently sits No. 2 in career tackles at Auburn with 453 total tackles from 1981-84. He was named All-SEC three times, and was a two-time All-American, earning consensus honors in 1984.

Backup LB2: Freddie Smith

Smith started four seasons for Auburn from 1976-79. He made the most of his time on the Plains, as he holds the program record for career tackles (528) and single-season tackles (193).

You will find him listed multiple times on Auburn’s single-game tackle chart, as he made 20+ tackles five times during his Auburn career.

Prior to his arrival at Auburn, Smith made 385 tackles in addition to rushing for 4,856 yards for Athens High School. He was awarded the Class 3A State Player of the Year in 1975.

Backup LB3: Karlos Dansby

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Karlos Dansby began his Auburn career in a strong way by making 66 tackles and six interceptions. Over the next two seasons, he would make great strides by improving in every major category.

After spending three seasons at Auburn, he went on to play 13 seasons in the NFL for four different franchises. During his pro career, he had seven seasons where he recorded over 100 tackles.

Starting CB1: Carlos Rogers

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Rogers was an anchor at cornerback on Auburn’s Sugar Bowl champion squad in 2004. He finished the season tied fifth in tackles with 46, and he led the team in pass breakups with nine.

He would go on to make 189 career stops, with his most noteworthy season being his freshman campaign in 2001, where he recorded a career-best 64 tackles.

Backup CB1: David Langner

Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Before Chris Davis and Ricardo Louis, there was David Langner. Langner’s Auburn career lasted from 1971-1973, but he is most known for his role in the 1972 Iron Bowl, the game famously dubbed “Punt Bama, Punt.”

In a top-10 battle, Alabama led 16-0 heading into the fourth quarter. Auburn caught magic in the final stanza by blocking two straight Alabama punts and returning them for touchdowns. Bill Newton blocked both punts, while Langner returned both punts to the end zone. He also intercepted a pass following the second punt block return to end Alabama’s hope of winning the game.

During that same season, he recorded eight interceptions, which is the second-highest mark in a single season in program history.

Backup CB2: Brian Robinson

Brian Robinson was named an All-American after recording eight interceptions during the 1994 season. He is tied for the third-most interceptions recorded in an Auburn career with Don Webb (13). His most memorable game was the 1994 Florida game when he recorded three interceptions in Auburn’s 36-33 win over the No. 1 Gators in the Swamp.

Starting S1: Buddy McClinton

Over a three-year span from 1967-69, Buddy McClinton reeled in 18 interceptions, which is a program record that stands today. He also holds Auburn’s season record of nine interceptions. He accomplished that feat in 1969.

Starting S2: Junior Rosegreen

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

One of the hardest-hitting safeties to put on an Auburn uniform was Junior Rosegreen. In five seasons, Rosegreen recorded 199 tackles and reeled in nine interceptions.

His most memorable season came in 2004, where he made 57 stops and picked off six passes in Auburn’s undefeated season. A key moment from Rosegreen that Auburn fans will never forget, is his monster hit on former Georgia wide receiver Reggie Brown in 2004.

Backup S1: Don Webb

Don Webb, Buddy McClinton, and Larry Willingham were a quarterback’s worst nightmare in the late 1960s. Each tallied over ten interceptions from 1967-69.

In 1968, Webb intercepted six passes, and he currently sits in third place in career inceptions at Auburn with 13.

Backup S2: Will Herring

John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Opelika native Will Herring made the move to linebacker for his senior season in 2006, where he made a career-high 72 stops, 9.5 of them were for a loss and he forced two fumbles.

Before his move, he played free safety for the Tigers from 2002-2005. In 40 games as a safety, Herring recorded 176 tackles and six interceptions.

[listicle id=51915]

Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire