Auburn Kicker Alex McPherson Expected to See Action This Saturday

Auburn's usual starting kicker has recovered enough from his illness to start easing back into on-field play

The Auburn Tigers will start bringing their usual starting kicker back into the fray. / Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze announced that kicker Alex McPherson has recovered enough to take on a role in placekicking for the Tigers.

He’ll be slowly brought back in, starting with smaller chip shots.

“Should we have another opportunity within the 25-yard range, we’re going to give Alex (McPherson) that shot,” Freeze said. “He (McPherson) told me he felt like he could do that. We’re close to thinking on that, we’ll see how the week goes.”

The sophomore kicker has been out battling a gastrointestinal illness since the start of fall camp.

McPherson went a perfect 13-of-13 on field goal attempts last season, including a long of 53-yards on the road at Texas A&M. Additionally, McPherson went a perfect 40-of-40 on PAT attempts.

Special teams are often not viewed with the same prestige as the other two phases of the game but can make a significant difference for any football team. 

The Tigers have found this to be the case as inconsistency at the place kicker position has been costly to the team this season.

This is an unexpected struggle for the Tigers as they expected to have McPherson from the get-go. This has not been the case as an illness caused McPherson to miss all of spring and summer practice and has held him out of the season so far.

True freshman Towns McGough had to step in for McPherson. McGough has had moments so far this season in which he has looked like a more than serviceable option for the Tigers. However, McGough’s stock has taken a dive as the season has gone on.

McGough hit a 58-yard field goal as time expired in Auburn’s spring game, showing his potential as the Tigers’ kicker of the future. This season has not reflected that performance as McGough is 5-of-10 on field goal attempts this season with a long of only 32-yards.

After McGough missed a 30-yard attempt in Auburn’s loss to Missouri, the Tigers have decided to change some things up.

Despite McGough’s struggles, Freeze still has confidence in his ability to be an impactful member of the team in the future.

“We’re excited about Towns (McGough) and his future and his talent,” Freeze said. “We need to make those, those are critical moments that keep our momentum up and us feeling good.”

McPherson will have the nod for short field goals when the Tigers take on the Kentucky Wildcats this week. Kickoff is set for 6:45 p.m. CT and SEC Network will have the broadcast.