Auburn sophomore receiver Darvin Adams was in a unique predicament last Saturday night against West Virginia.

The better he did, the more danger he encountered.

Adams tallied three touchdown receptions as the Tigers rallied for a 41-30 victory and headed to the sideline after every score. Waiting there was receivers coach Trooper Taylor, who is known for jump-and-bump celebrations with his players.

As the touchdowns mounted, so did Taylor's jump-and-bumps, which nearly sent Adams sprawling into the team bench.

"He got the better of me, because I was getting tired," Adams said. "It's great to have a coach who's more excited than the player."

Adams is providing his share of excitement for the 3-0 Tigers, who host winless Ball State this Saturday before traveling next week to Tennessee. The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder from Kennesaw, Ga., leads the team with 15 catches for 261 yards and four touchdowns, and his 87 receiving yards per game ranks fourth in the Southeastern Conference.

Auburn's passing attack played a supplemental role to tailbacks Ben Tate and Ontario McCalebb in the first two games, as the tandem combined for 265 rushing yards in the 37-13 win over Louisiana Tech and for 271 yards in the 49-24 win over Mississippi State. The Mountaineers arrived on the Plains intending to stop that 1-2 punch and succeeded, holding Tate and McCalebb to a combined 95 yards on 27 carries.

That put quarterback Chris Todd and his receivers on the spot, and they produced, as Todd completed 16 of 31 passes for 284 yards with four touchdowns and an interception.

"When they take away the run, you've got to be able to pass the football," offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said, "and it's pretty encouraging to see that we're capable of doing that."

Six of Todd's passes went to Adams, who amassed 80 yards. He had a 16-yard scoring reception in the first quarter, a 4-yard score in the second quarter and a 17-yarder in the fourth that put the Tigers ahead 34-30.

Adams had just three catches last season, all in the late-season win over UT-Martin.

"He's obviously doing very well," Todd said. "He did really well throughout fall camp and in practice, and I think it was just a matter of time before he had a game like this. He's a really good route-runner, and he's really quick in and out of his cuts. He's really rangy as well and has a large target area to throw the football.

"He can go up and get the ball. He has a lot of assets, but his route-running is his biggest."

Adams is only 71 yards away from matching Rodgeriqus Smith's team-leading 332 receiving yards last season on a spread offense that was a disaster. Montez Billings was the top returning receiver with 277 yards but was suspended for the first four games because of an academic issue and decided to leave the team last weekend.

Another troubling year for Auburn's receivers appeared likely, but that assumption was obliterated in the opener when Todd connected with Terrell Zachery for a 93-yard touchdown. Todd and Mario Fannin teamed for an 82-yard score last weekend.

"It was kind of tough going through last season, but I think it was a matter of sitting back and waiting your turn," Adams said. "Now our coaches are giving guys like me, Terrell Zachery, Mario Fannin and Tommy Trott the opportunity to make plays. Every receiver was happy when we first met Coach Malzahn.

"We had a lot of big plans and a lot of things on our minds. We were all thinking we could make plays in this offense."

When Rivals.com ranked its top receivers in the 2008 signing class, Alabama's Julio Jones was No. 1 and Georgia's A.J. Green was No. 2. There were 11 receivers who signed with SEC schools rated ahead of Adams, who was pegged 48th nationally at his position after snagging 66 catches for 867 yards and 11 touchdowns as a Harrison High senior.

Jones and Green proved their value immediately, earning Freshman All-America honors last season.

"I knew my time would come sooner or later," Adams said. "I just kept working and praying about it, and now my time has come. I'm trying to take full advantage of it."