Auburn’s Two Safeties Have 67 Tackles—LSU Must Stress the Second Level
The most revealing Auburn defenders may not start the snap at the line of scrimmage. Safeties Eric Winters and Kaleb Harris enter the LSU game with 67 combined tackles, a number that puts both players near the center of Auburn’s defensive traffic. LSU’s challenge is not merely to avoid them. It is to force them to choose.
Quick Answer
Auburn safety Eric Winters has 35 tackles and safety Kaleb Harris has 32 through six games of the 2026 season, according to LSU’s official October 23 preview. Their 67 combined stops show how active Auburn’s safeties are in the defense. LSU can stress that activity with play-action, motion, tight-end seams and running-back routes that make Winters and Harris balance run support against coverage responsibility.
What the tackle numbers do—and do not—prove
LSU’s official Auburn preview lists Winters at 35 tackles and Harris at 32, behind linebacker Elijah Melendez’s team-leading 52. The figures establish that both safeties are active tacklers. They do not, by themselves, prove that Auburn’s front is weak or that every stop occurred downfield.
That distinction matters. Safety tackles can come from excellent force play, clean coverage rallies, quarterback runs, special-teams snaps or breakdowns in front of them. The useful conclusion is narrower: Auburn asks its safeties to finish a meaningful share of plays, so LSU’s formation and route choices can put those defenders in repeated conflict.
TigerHype’s look at Auburn’s 31 gains of 20-plus yards focused on LSU’s need to preserve leverage on defense. LSU’s offense faces the mirror image: create leverage problems that make Auburn’s second level arrive late or from a poor angle.
How LSU can create a run-pass conflict
The cleanest stress begins with the same pre-snap picture. LSU can align a tight end attached to the formation, place a back next to Sam Leavitt and present a credible run surface. If a safety inserts downhill, play-action can open the seam behind him. If the safety stays high, LSU can hand the ball off into a lighter box.
Motion sharpens the choice. A receiver crossing the formation can reveal whether a safety is rotating, matching or replacing a nickel defender. LSU does not need a trick play every time. It needs enough movement to make the safety declare his responsibility before the ball arrives.
That is why Trey’Dez Green’s return and LSU’s 12-personnel flexibility matter. Two tight ends can create a downhill run picture while preserving multiple vertical releases. Auburn’s safeties must sort which eligible receiver threatens their zone without arriving late to the run.
Why the middle of the field matters
The middle is not a license for Leavitt to force throws into traffic. It is a way to control where Auburn’s safeties place their eyes. A seam route can hold a defender even when the ball goes outside. A dig route can pull him forward and clear space behind. A shallow route can turn him into a tackler in space instead of a deep-ball eraser.
LSU should value layered concepts over isolated hero shots. One receiver can occupy the corner, another can cross underneath and the tight end can threaten the seam. The quarterback then reads the safety’s movement rather than guessing at a one-on-one matchup.
Dilin Jones can make the safeties tackle in space
Dilin Jones caught eight passes for 58 yards against Mississippi State in addition to rushing for 84 yards. His receiving role is not a side note. It can pull a linebacker outward and leave a safety as the next defender in the alley.
TigerHype previously detailed how Jones became LSU’s two-way pressure valve. Against Auburn, checkdowns and designed releases can be offensive answers, not concessions. A six-yard completion becomes valuable if Jones forces a safety to tackle without help and turns the next play into second-and-short.
The key is spacing. Sending every route to the same area lets Auburn compress the field. LSU must widen the underneath defenders, stretch the safeties vertically and leave Jones room to make the first tackler wrong.
What to watch on LSU’s opening script
First, count where Winters and Harris align. A two-high shell can become one-high after the snap, but the initial depth still reveals Auburn’s intentions. Second, watch which safety responds to tight-end motion. Third, note whether LSU throws behind the first aggressive downhill fit.
If Auburn’s safeties are collecting tackles near the line, LSU must use their aggressiveness to open space behind them. If they are making stops after short completions, LSU must improve blocking and route spacing so those catches become explosive opportunities.
The objective is not to remove Winters and Harris from the game. That is unrealistic. The objective is to make every tackle assignment expensive: run support should expose coverage space, and deep coverage should lighten the box. LSU wins the second level by making the safeties choose correctly snap after snap.
Auburn safeties vs. LSU FAQ
How many tackles does Eric Winters have in 2026?
Eric Winters has 35 tackles through Auburn’s first six games of the 2026 season.
How many tackles does Kaleb Harris have?
Kaleb Harris has 32 tackles through six games, giving Auburn’s two featured safeties 67 combined tackles.
How can LSU stress Auburn’s safeties?
LSU can combine credible run action with tight-end seams, receiver motion and running-back routes to force the safeties to balance run support and coverage.
Does high safety tackle volume prove Auburn’s front is struggling?
No. Tackle totals alone do not reveal where or why every stop occurred. They do show that Winters and Harris are active finishers within Auburn’s defense.
Discussion question: Which LSU target should attack Auburn’s safeties first—Trey’Dez Green, Dilin Jones or a wide receiver on a dig route? Set the opening script in LSU Game Day.
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