Auburn players 'have a lot of confidence...

[aubiefifty 16,753]

1. Auburn Football

 team will be healthy for Texas A&M

Posted on October 29, 2017 at 7:58 PM

 

By Tom Green

tgreen@al.com

Auburn's No. 1 priority during the bye week was to get its players healthy after eight straight games to open the season. Judging by the tone of some players Sunday evening, that goal was accomplished.

As No. 16 Auburn heads into the stretch run of the season, beginning with an 11 a.m. matchup against Texas A&M on Saturday, the Tigers are confident the low-stress week off was just what the doctor ordered.

Senior linebacker Tre' Williams said Auburn's defense "should" have everyone back and available against the Aggies.

"We had a lot of guys out there practicing today and they were practicing like they were in Game 1," Williams said. "I have a lot of confidence that we'll have everybody back."

That includes cornerback Javaris Davis and safety Tray Matthews, both of whom have been hampered by hamstring injuries. Davis has missed three of the last five games due to the injury, while Matthews missed the last game and a half after injuring his hamstring in the first half at LSU.

Williams, who has been dealing with a shoulder injury since Week 2 against Clemson and missed three of the last five games, believes the open week also did him some good.

"I got a chance a chance to get off my feet and get my body right," Williams said. "We have great trainers and they've got me right, so I should be ready for this upcoming four games."

 

Will Auburn stay undefeated after bye weeks under Gus Malzahn?

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On the offensive side of the ball, the Tigers have dealt with a string of injuries to the offensive line. Left guard Mike Horton has been nursing an ankle injury that sidelined him the last two games, while center Casey Dunn has dealt with an undisclosed injury that occurred during the LSU game and sidelined him against Arkansas. Right tackle Darius James was carted off during the second half against Arkansas, but X-rays were negative on his leg.

All three returned to practice last Tuesday, according to coach Gus Malzahn.

"I think it was a good thing to just kind of get people healthy," right guard Braden Smith said. "We had some people banged up. So it was good to just have that week where we could get people healthy and back into it for the next four-game stretch we've got coming up."

While those three returned to practice last week, Malzahn said Wednesday that everyone would be taking it easy until Sunday's practice, which marked the start of the home stretch for Auburn.

Smith said it remains to be seen if Auburn will return to its original starting offensive line of Austin Golson at left tackle, Horton at left guard, Dunn at center, himself at right guard and James at right tackle.

"We needed to get healed up," wide receiver Ryan Davis said. "We had a lot of nicks and bruises. A lot of people on the team was trying to get back, so that was good for us to just get back and just recover."

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

[penguin149 391]

Tray Matthews being back will be HUGE!  

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,656]

the road to the conference championship is pretty damn simple. LSU has to beat an Alabama team they havent touched in over half a decade. Just play your best ball every week and you'll be where you need to be

 

this goes for the coaches more than the players but