Practice Observations: Where is Auburn focused for Baylor?
Red-zone offense, needing to #EstablishIt, injury updates and defensive confidence highlight a busy Tuesday of Week 1 notes.
AUBURN — For Auburn football, Monday was a Tuesday. That meant when the Tigers hit the practice field Tuesday morning, it really was a Wednesday morning for them.
Such is life when you open a season on a Friday instead of Saturday. Auburn has had to move everything up by a day during this first game week against Baylor, but it’s more than fine. The Tigers have been literally prepping this way for a month.
Even on the Tuesdays that feel like Tuesdays later this season, Auburn is expected to practice in the mornings. Media members will get a viewing window on those days, followed by player interviews after practice concludes.
This Week 1 viewing window lasted 30 minutes, covering the first four periods of practice. With Auburn now in full game week mode, the early portions of practice were reserved for walkthroughs and warmups, now that there’s an actual scout team — clad in Baylor green jerseys — to go up against for the regulars.
Here at The Observer, we’re planning on sending out Practice Observations on Tuesday afternoons throughout the season. If the Tigers are sticking to this game week schedule for availability, we’ll tell you what we saw and heard at the football complex on Tuesdays.
Let’s start, as usual, by taking a look at the injuries and health concerns as Auburn gets one step closer to a massive matchup against Baylor on Friday night in Texas.
The latest on Alex McPherson and Eric Singleton Jr.
One of the biggest pieces of news from Hugh Freeze during his Monday press conference was the status of kicker Alex McPherson. After missing almost the entire 2024 season due to ulcerative colitis, McPherson underwent surgery to remove his colon last December and was cleared to return to football earlier this year.
There have been flare-ups with McPherson, as Freeze noted Monday during his presser and on the Tiger Talk radio show. Auburn has had prepare for the possibility that McPherson could be unavailable, giving plenty of reps to Towns McGough and Connor Gibbs throughout the preseason.
On Tuesday, though, McPherson spent the first couple of periods of practice kicking field goals on an outdoor field. He was automatic from 40 yards, eventually extending his range out to 45 yards.
Then, with one of his last kicks, McPherson drilled a 50-yarder right down the middle. There were plenty of smiles among the specialists after they saw McPherson hit that.
Again, McPherson will likely be a true game-time decision Friday night at Baylor. McPherson will talk to the coaching staff on what he feels comfortable doing physically, which may limit him to shorter field goals. However, it was a good sign to see him look more like his old self with a long-range bomb on the field.
The other major injury news involved wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr., who is still recovering from a “deep thigh bruise” that he suffered around two weeks ago in practice. Singleton has been limited in practices since then, wearing a yellow non-contact jersey during drills.