Auburn, AL: It was another Monday and the press once again descended on the Auburn athletics complex to hear from Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin. Following a 21-17 loss to the LSU Tigers, some key questions were raised about the Tigers performance so far this season on special teams.
Anders Carlson, who is in his fifth year as an Auburn Tiger, has failed to live up to expectations for this season so far through five games. Coming into the season after tearing his ACL on his kicking leg near the end of last season, the Tigers kicker has just kicked only 71.4%, with every miss kick he has had coming from over 40 yards out. While that seems like a low percentage for a kicker, it actually is his third-highest field goal percentage since he has been at Auburn. Through four seasons and five games Carlson is sitting at 72% for field goal percentage, while having a make percentage of almost 53% when kicking from longer than 40 yards out. In comparison his brother Daniel, who is Auburn’s all time leading scorer and current NFL pro bowl kicker for the Las Vegas Raiders, had a field goal percentage of 80.7% with a 68% make rate for kicks longer than 40 yards at Auburn.
“We have faith in Anders…he’s been very good in practice…Anders is a very consistent guy and we still believe in him,” said Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin when asked about how Anders has performed in the past few games. “One thing about Anders I know that he will make whatever adjustments he needs to make to go out there and be successful for us,”
If Auburn were to make the switch, they would turn to true freshman Alex McPherson. The 5’9” kicker form Fort Payne, Alabama is a former Under Armour All-American and brother of Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson. Alex has been known to have been a good kicker from distance, having nailed a 60 yard kick in high school and almost connecting on a 70-yard kick.
“Alex is available and Alex can go out there and have opportunities as well,” Harsin said when asked about the possibility that if McPherson could get some chances. “Alex is ready, but Anders still has our full support and this week is gonna be a great week to get back on track.”
While the outlook on special teams as a whole may seem bleak, punter Oscar Chapman has been a star so far this year for the Tigers. The junior from Australia has helped out the Auburn defense all season, averaging 44.1 yards a punt in 19 attempts though five games. While you never want to your the punter on the field, it is always helpful when the guy you hand the ball to on fourth down is as consistent as one can be.
“He’s a weapon…he is the best if not one of the best in the country,” Harsin said when asked what it is like having a punter like Oscar Chapman.
This weekend, the Tigers will be on the road to Athens, as they take on the #2 Georgia Bulldogs in their first road game of the season. The game will be at 2:30 PM CST on CBS.
