Kickoff between the Auburn Tigers and the No. 14 Texas A&M Aggies is less than two hours away, and the final SEC Student-Athlete Availability Report has been released for the game.
Auburn’s report features six players, four of whom are nursing season-ending injuries. Tight end [autotag]Rivaldo Fairweather[/autotag] has been added to the report with a “game-time decision” tag.
One player, kicker [autotag]Alex McPherson[/autotag], has been ruled out due to an ongoing gastrointestinal illness. Head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] will look to walk-on kicker [autotag]Ian Vachon[/autotag] to handle kicking duties on Saturday following his debut performance in Auburn’s win over ULM. In that game, he connected on all six of his extra-point opportunities and went 2-for-2 on field goal chances, connecting on a long of 26 yards.
Freeze complimented Vachon’s performance during Monday’s preview press conference by saying that it would be tough to remove his duties.
“It’d be hard to take it from him at this point. Again, I think Towns (McGough) is going to be outstanding. He’s just a young freshman. All of our freshmen are making mistakes that are playing. Kickers probably get more magnified than a DB or defensive lineman. I want to be sure everybody hears me loud and clear, I think his future is extremely bright. You don’t get that type of leg strength often. Currently, Ian (Vachon) is batting 1,000. Those have been critical plays in some of our losses that had we made those the whole dynamic of that game at that point kind of changes, so we’re not going to take the ball out of his hands right now. I’m proud of him. It’s a great story. He came through when he got his number called Saturday, so he’ll get another chance.”
Here is a look at the final SEC Student-Athlete Availability Report ahead of Auburn’s game vs. Texas A&M, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Auburn injury report
- OLB Jamonta Waller (Out)
- DB Tyler Scott (Out)
- DB Champ Anthony (Out)
- K Alex McPherson (Out)
- TE Brandon Frazier (Out)
- TE Rivaldo Fairweather (Game time decision)
Texas A&M injury report
- RB Reuben Owens (Out)
- WR Cyrus Allen (Out)
- DB Tyreek Chappell (Out)
- RB Le’Veon Moss (Out)
- OL Mark Nabou Jr. (Out)
- QB Jaylen Henderson (Out)
- OL Chase Bisontis (Game time decision)
Caleb Wooden injury update
Wooden was listed as questionable for Saturday’s game on Wednesday’s initial SEC Student-Athlete Availability Report due to an undisclosed injury that kept him sidelined for last week’s game vs. ULM. He has been cleared to play according to the final report released Saturday, and will provide key depth to the Auburn defensive backfield.
Caleb Burton injury update
Burton has not appeared in a game since Auburn’s loss to Arkansas on Sept. 21. It was reported that Burton had missed several weeks of action due to concussion protocol. However, he is no longer listed on Auburn’s availability report, and will be available to play against Texas A&M.
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