AUBURN — It may have only been a few extra months, but Cam Coleman's participation in spring practice as an early enrollee has put him in position for a starting role a true freshman with Auburn football.

It's also given him the knowledge he needs to help a friend and fellow freshman receiver in Perry Thompson.

"It's awesome to see those guys," receivers coach Marcus Davis said Thursday. "Perry hits the ground rolling now because he wasn't here in the spring, and I hear Cam tap him, 'I know how you feel, man.' It's just cool to see that. You know that's somebody Perry can lean on just in terms of adjusting and adapting to the playbook, the speed of practice and the speed of college and everything.

"It's been awesome to see those two together, and they feed off each other's energy. Not just them two but the entire room. Everybody is feeding off each other's energy right now."

NEWCOMER: Texas experience serving transfer Jerrin Thompson well in Year 1 with Auburn football

'I FEEL WAY BETTER': Pieces finally coming together for Auburn football OL Jeremiah Wright

Coleman starred at A-Day and has all but locked up significant playing time in his first season. Thompson is having to play catch up because he didn't go through spring with the Tigers, but he certainly looks the part through the first few weeks of preseason practices.

Thompson is listed at 6-foot-3, 222 pounds, and he looks every bit of it. He couples that stature with impressive speed, which has given him opportunties to do things like field punts. He may not be the starting punt returner come the season opener, but he's buying himself more chances in practice to prove why he deserves to be on the field.

"Ultra talented, tremendous size, great speed," offensive coordinator Derrick Nix said of Thompson. "I think the No. 1 thing is just a lack of experience so far. He hasn’t been here very long. Only time will tell. All the necessary tools are there for him to go be the receiver we’d like to have here."

Thompson and Coleman are two of the four freshman receivers Auburn has on roster, as they're joined by former four-star recruits Bryce Cain and Malcolm Simmons.

“It’s funny and refreshing. The guys, they’re always happy," Nix said. "They’re always around the building. If they’re not doing football, man, they might be playing video games. They go bowling. Just the simple things in life. It’s water off a duck’s back. It’s like they don’t worry about anything, they just do what they need to do and they’re having a lot of fun. It’s kind of refreshing to see that.”

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: Cam Coleman helping Perry Thompson along as freshmen