Key Auburn Tigers Specialist to Miss Week 1 vs. Alabama A&M

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze gave an update on how his squad will handle kicking duties vs. Alabama A&M.

The Auburn Tigers are hoping Alex McPherson's absence won't be prolonged. / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze announced that place kicker Alex McPherson will miss the first week of the season. Towns McGough will get the reps against Alabama A&M. Freeze added that they feel positive about the progress in McPherson’s recovery. 

“[McPherson] will not be ready to play this Saturday,” Freeze said. “So, Towns will handle our kicking duties, both kickoff and field goal, extra points, but we do feel positive about where Alex is trending.” 

McPherson has missed most of fall camp due to battling a gastrointestinal illness. Just the idea of it sounds excruciating and Auburn is patient with his recovery accordingly. 

“It’s not an injury, he’s just battling a health issue that’s taken him a while to really get back,” Freeze said in early July. 

While it won’t matter as much against an opponent like Alabama A&M, an FCS school that finished 5-6 last season, a long-term absence could be felt as the season progresses. 

The sophomore became the starting kicker for Auburn last season after being the backup his freshman year. He didn’t miss a single kick on 13 attempts. He’s only missed one field goal in his college career - and it was his first one. He’s successfully kicked a field goal in his last 19 attempts. According to the Auburn Football website, it’s a school record. 

McGough will be seeing his first college action much sooner than expected. He’s a true freshman and has been enrolled at Auburn since January. While he clearly impressed in camp, here are some stats from the A-Day Game too. He was the A-Day Game special teams MVP, making seven field goals including a game-winning 58-yard field goal. 

While it’s a pretty low-stakes game, 58 yards is 58 yards, especially for a kicker who could have been focused on senior prom rather than enrolling early at Auburn.

Auburn will take the field against Alabama A&M at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday to start their 2024 season. Kick-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CDT.