With Darius Slayton and Ryan Davis having moved onto the NFL, Seth Williams is Auburn’s leading returning wide receiver.

The sophomore, who is coming off a 26-catch (534 yards, 5 TDs) freshman season, was missing in action during a few recent Tigers’ fall camp practices, but was back in action this weekend. It’s good for Williams to be back at practice, because coach Gus Malzahn is expecting to see Williams use that freshman experience to take the next step this fall.

“Yeah, I mean, he’s more mature,” Malzahn told reporters Sunday. “There’s no doubt. We’re still needing to kind to go to that next step — not just with him, but there’s a handful of guys who just need to take that next step. He’s very, very talented. I think everybody knows that.

“We’re just challenging those young guys, even if they played last year … (to) take that next step. And we’re staying on them, and he’s one of them. I think he’s responded well. And like I said earlier, I think the big thing from fall camp is that everybody knows the standard right now. Our leaders are really the ones that are setting the tone for holding that standard together.”