It was a year to forget for Auburn’s kickers in 2024 as the group’s performance was a detriment to the Tigers’ success, or lack thereof, and likely cost them a game or two in the grand scheme of things.
Much of that was due to the absence of incumbent starter Alex McPherson, who was sidelined with ulcerative colitis and only appeared in one game.
Walk-on freshman Towns McGough took over the kicking duties but struggled as he was just 5-for-12 on field goal attempts and was benched for another walk-on in Ian Vachon. Vachon, who nailed a 29-yarder to send the Tigers to overtime against Texas A&M and buried another in second overtime from 41 yards out, provided some relief in the middle of a tumultuous showing for Auburn’s kicking game, but finished the year just 2-for-4 on kicks of more than 30 yards.
With McPherson back in uniform, the Tigers are looking to rely on a much-needed veteran to provide some answers in that department in 2025.
“Today and yesterday he was automatic, he didn’t miss a kick," Freeze said of McPherson on Wednesday, following the Tigers’ morning practice. “Again, you're still monitoring his health. It's not that he's not kicking it well. We just want to maintain his weight, do whatever we can to support him and his doctors in doing that. Whether that means he needs to sit out two days or whatever is it to make sure he’s ready to go. Because he’s been really automatic.”
McPherson was 13-for-13 on field goal attempts, and 40-for-40 on PATs in 2023 and was a Lou Groza Award semifinalist after stringing together 19 consecutive makes – a school record.
The Tigers are still firm in their belief that now-sophomore kicker Towns McGough can get the job done on this level after being thrown into the fire as a freshman.
“Towns kicked it really well today, too. We were in a team drives (period) today, and had a 52-yarder, and Towns put it right down the middle. And so that was good to see,” Freeze said.
Auburn added Connor Gibbs through the transfer portal to round out the room. Gibbs, formerly with Southern Miss, was 10-of-13 on field goals at Southern Miss during 2024 with a long kick of 59 yards, and has the leg, as does McGough, to handle kickoff duties as he averaged 60.2 yards on 61 kickoffs in 2023, with 15 touchbacks.
The Tigers will have three more weeks of preseason practice before gearing up for their season opener against Baylor on August 29 in Waco, Texas. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on FOX.
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