Eric Singleton Jr. was supposed to make Saturday’s trip to Auburn feel personal. Instead, an ankle injury has put his availability in doubt and may keep the former Tiger on the sideline for the matchup with his old team.
Singleton missed all of Week 2 for Florida after hurting his left ankle in the season opener against FAU. He’s out of the walking boot now, but his practice reps have been extremely limited, and that has pushed expectations toward him being inactive against Auburn.
If he does wind up unavailable, that would be a notable break for the Tigers’ secondary. Singleton has spent his college career carving up defenses, starting at Georgia Tech, where he topped 700 receiving yards in both his freshman and sophomore seasons.
His production dipped in the touchdown column during his second year with the Yellowjackets. He finished with more receiving yards than the season before, but his touchdown total fell from six to three.
Then came last season at Auburn, where Singleton posted a career-high 58 catches but managed only around 500 yards and three touchdowns. Even with that quieter stat line, he still showed the kind of juice that has followed him throughout his career.
That’s because Singleton has been a constant yards-after-catch threat, averaging 12.4 yards per catch over his career. Florida was hoping for a bounce-back season from him before the ankle injury interrupted everything.
He could still suit up in Jordan-Hare Stadium, but the source of the concern is clear: even if he plays, he’s expected to be limited.
And Auburn’s defense can’t afford to treat Florida as a one-man issue anyway. Aaron Philo has plenty of options, with Vernell Brown already up to 160 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and Dallas Wilson right behind him with 151 yards and one score.
In Other News...
Auburn Heads To Florida With One Big Question About Its Identity
Auburn heads into Week 3 with a familiar kind of test waiting in Gainesville, the sort that tends to expose what kind of team a program really is in September. Florida and Auburn both want to lean on physical football, but ESPN analyst Cole Cubelic sees the Gators as having the edge in that area, especially on offense, where line play and the ability to move bodies can set the tone early.
For Auburn, the question is whether its identity can hold up when the game turns into a trench fight. The Tigers have gotten a lift from the return of key edge rushers on defense, but the offensive line has been uneven enough to cast doubt on the rushing attacks ceiling. If Auburn cant match Floridas physicality up front, the rest of the trip could get uncomfortable in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn's Expensive Roster Overhaul Just Raised The Pressure On Alex Golesh
Auburns offseason makeover came with a price tag that makes the stakes around Alex Goleshs first year hard to miss. According to a report from The Athletic, the Tigers spent between $31 million and $35 million on the roster, putting the program 17th among Power 4 schools and ninth in the SEC. It was also the fifth-most expensive roster tied to a first-year head coach, a reminder that this wasnt a light reset but a major investment in getting Goleshs era moving quickly.
The roster churn has been just as striking as the spending. Roughly 40 players transferred out after Golesh was hired, and about the same number came in, including a dozen who followed him from South Florida. That kind of overhaul brings obvious uncertainty, but it also sharpens the pressure on Auburn to show the money and the movement translated into real progress, because this sort of spending usually comes with expectations that are anything but patient. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn's Staff Chemistry Started Long Before This Season
Before Auburns current staff ever started drawing up game plans together on the Plains, several of those connections were already in place through previous stops at Bowling Green, Toledo and Illinois. Mike Ward, a longtime college football assistant who now coaches at Perrysburg High School, has crossed paths with a number of Auburns current coaches over the years, building the kind of familiarity that can make a staff feel more connected from the start.
Ward has never actually worked for Auburn, but he knows enough of the people involved to have a real read on the groups upside. Those relationships have stayed strong, and he remains optimistic about what they can do together. For now, he is hoping for a visit to Auburn in the near future, which would give him a closer look at the program and the coaches he has followed from afar. [Read more 🡒]