Auburn football: Injured players update; who reporters saw line up in wildcat

We’re officially 19 days from the Auburn football season opener against Washington in Atlanta on Sept. 1 and the Tigers held their ninth practice Monday.

A lot remains unsettled before Auburn meets the Huskies in a battle of top 10 teams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but we’re starting to get a better picture from practice reports and viewing periods.

Here are some updates from the Auburn beat from Monday’s practice:

Tom Green of AL.com reported which players were wearing orange jerseys. That group included DB Noah Igbinoghene, LB Richard McBryde, safety Jeremiah Dinson, DL Daquan Newkirk, offensive linemen Nick Brahms and Brodarius Hamm, along with injured receivers Eli Stove and Will Hastings. A no-contact orange jersey indicates that player is out with injury.

Dinson and Igbinoghene are the two biggest names on this list and it’s important to get them healthy before the opener and there’s no indication they won’t be. Igbinoghene, who played receiver and returned kickoffs last season as a freshman has impressed enough in his move to cornerback that he’s expected to start opposite Jamel Dean.

Dinson has been the jack of all trades in the secondary and while his availability for the Washington game is not in doubt, it’s important that he’s 100 percent when Sept. 1 arrives.

Nathan King of The Plainsman had several updates on the offense, including receiver Marquis McClain returning to the field in a blue jersey after previously wearing an orange, no-contact one. He was joined by Ryan Davis and Darius Slayton in blue jerseys during Monday’s viewing period.

Again, nothing to worry about with Davis and Slayton and McClain needs to remain healthy to carve out a spot in the receiver rotation. McClain is a big, physical receiver who hasn’t received a lot of reps in his two seasons at Auburn, but continues getting solid reviews from coaches and teammates.

Also from King:

• H-back Chandler Cox and redshirt freshman running back JaTarvious Whitlow were seen running the wildcat formation. King also provided updates on what Auburn’s unbalanced line looked like. It will be interesting to see what approach Auburn takes with the wildcat formation. Multiple reactions on Twitter did not approve of seeing Cox in that role.

Last season, Kerryon Johnson took direct snaps in certain situations and even threw the ball. It would appear that Auburn has plenty of options to step into that role beyond Cox.

A few more observations from reporters on site:

The emergence of Arryn Siposs at punter is an encouraging one. Another beat writer tweeted a video of Siposs sending a punt high and deep. The Australian kicker arrived on campus late, but is expected to win the starting job after Auburn struggling in the punting game a season ago. The Tigers averaged 39.4 yards per punt in 2017 — Auburn ranked 108th in punt return defense — with Aidan Marshall and Ian Shannon both averaging 39-plus yards per kick.