Auburn football injury update: Receiver health an issue heading into season

Going into the UMass game Auburn has some injuries to address.

With the 2023 football season opener against UMass which is scheduled at 2:30pm on Saturday September 2nd less than two weeks away, the Auburn Tigers have felt the sting of multiple injuries during both Spring and Fall camps. 

With the latest update on who is dawning the dreaded yellow jerseys at practice, we will break down where the Auburn football roster sits going into this upcoming matchup.

John Cohen has recently made the unnerving comment regarding the Auburn football team heading into the first game, commenting that, “Freeze’s team isn’t going to start the season healthy.” Although this isn’t comforting news for the faithful fan base considering the outcome of the 2022 season and the need to restart the tradition of excellence, we are all missing on the plains, it is important to remember that this is a contact sport and attrition, and injuries are inevitable. 

Offensive Injury Update:

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Beginning with the offensive side of the ball the injuries to date are as follows:

Ja’Varrious Johnson has been out recently due to stitches in his gum line, he is still putting in reps, although they have been limited.

Koy Moore has been suffering with a lingering ankle injury since Spring camp and is also beginning to put in practice reps although limited.

Camden Brown has suffered from what Coach Freeze commented as “a string of bad luck injuries since his arrival as head coach,” although he has recently been seen putting in quality practice reps on the field as he works to get back to full playing strength.

Nick Mardner has been battling with an “undisclosed” injury but has still been putting in quality reps with the team at practice.

Brian Battie is still working through his recovery from a foot surgery at the end of Spring camp, but as his reps at Fall camp and practice have shown he seems to be coming along nicely.

Obviously, the wide receiver room has been hit the hardest with injuries this off season and the need for some new additions and younger players on the roster to step up and fill the void is glaringly apparent. To touch on this, several players have seemingly risen to the occasion with players like returning sophomore Jay Fair truly answering the call and garnering the most attention thus far.

Others like the newly minted plainsmen Caleb Burton III from Ohio State and Jyaire Shorter from North Texas have also been seen in rotation with the ones to fill these gaps caused by the injury bug on the offensive side of the ball. 

Defensive Injury Update:

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Continuing with our injury review, the defensive side has also suffered a few notable injuries so far and that list is as follows:

Austin Keys is battling through a shoulder injury and was not seen in last Saturday’s final scrimmage of Fall camp.

Wesley Steiner is nursing a hamstring injury and has been taking very limited reps during practice.

Jaylen McLeod is suffering from an ankle injury and is working hard with the training staff to effectuate a speedy recovery.

Keldric Faulk is recovering from a hand injury that Coach Freeze recently commented on with his showing at the last scrimmage remarking that, “he tried, but he’s just not ready.”

Just as with the offensive rooms, several players on the defensive side have had to step up to fill the gaps caused by these injuries. Cam Riley and Eugene Asante have been battling it out for those coveted first team reps in response to these injuries, and it looks as though Eugene is pulling away from Riley in this battle and will likely get the nod. Newly minted plainsman Larry Nixon III from North Texas looks to be the one to fill the void that Austin Keys has left with his unfortunate shoulder injury.

On the defensive line and Jack positions, Elijah McAllister, Stephen Sings V, and Mosiah Nasili-Kite all new additions to the Auburn football program, are proving their worth to the team as valuable fillers for our losses in starting talent due to injuries. 

Although this isn’t the news we all want to hear coming into such an important rebuilding year for the Auburn football program, I am proud to report that we have the depth to address these concerns. Our thoughts are with these young men and our support is with the excellent training staff that we have in place to make sure these players heal quickly and come back better then ever.