Positive Injury Update for Auburn Tigers Ahead of Oklahoma

The No. 22 Auburn Tigers take on No. 11 Oklahoma this weekend to open SEC play, and a significant amount of focus leading up to this matchup has surrounded the team’s injury situation.

The final availability report was released on Thursday, and it contained numerous positive upgrades for Auburn ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Sooners.

Defensive end Amaris Williams was originally listed as “doubtful” in Wednesday’s initial report, but moved up to “questionable” in the most recent. Williams separated his shoulder last weekend against South Alabama, exiting the game in the first quarter, per Hugh Freeze. The sophomore has recorded three total tackles thus far, tallying one in each game, with 0.5 sacks and two quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.

Auburn had three players who jumped up from “questionable” to “probable,” including safety Champ Anthony, defensive back Rayshawn Pleasant, wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr., and offensive lineman Izavion Miller.

Anthony has been out the past two games with a broken thumb suffered at Baylor, while Pleasant, Singleton, and Miller are set to play after dealing with minor injuries.

Starting running back Damari Alston and wide receiver Malcolm Simmons were removed from the most recent availability report after being ruled “probable” on Wednesday. Alston will play for the first time since Auburn’s opener in Waco, where he established a nagging shoulder injury, and Simmons will suit up for the Tigers after appearing fully healthy on Thursday.

However, arguably Auburn’s best defensive back, Jay Crawford, has remained as “doubtful” ahead of Saturday’s matchup. The sophomore corner injured his knee in the Tigers’ homecoming win over South Alabama last weekend, but Freeze said on Thursday that Crawford will be a game-time decision and likely see fewer snaps than normal.

“Talked to [Jay Crawford] today and he feels better, but I think it would be like Damari (Alston) the last few weeks,” Freeze said to the media. “He’ll be dressed and see how pregame goes. I wouldn’t, right now, think he would play a large number of snaps, but hopefully I’m wrong. That’s what I believe.”

As expected, sophomore running back Durell Robinson is ruled out for the second consecutive game. The UConn transfer suffered a “freak” injury in his leg following Auburn' s win over Ball State two weeks ago, where he was rushed to a hospital the next morning to remove a collection of blood in his leg.

Auburn and Oklahoma kick off Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CST on ABC in an enormous matchup that will, in all likelihood, be the Tigers’ first true test of the season.