Auburn football will start a non-Carlson kicker for the first time since 2013

The Carlson kicking era at Auburn football may be coming to an end sooner than later after an injury-fraught weekend on the Plains. Not only did third-year starting quarterback Bo Nix break his ankle and continue to play his heart out, but fourth-year starting placekicker Anders Carlson tore his ACL and will be out for the remainder of the season.

For the first time since 2013, the Auburn football program will have to start a kicker whose last name is not Carlson.

Anders Carlson’s older brother Daniel signed with the Tigers almost ten years ago and played in orange and blue from 2013-2017 before being drafted in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft to the Vikings. Anders Carlson took over from his older brother in 2018 and has been starting for the Tigers ever since.

In his career on the Plains, Carlson has made 67 of 93 field-goal attempts for 72.04 percent, the longest being 53 yards. He’s also kicked 151 PAT’s, and racked up 352 total points over four seasons. Now, a kicker without the famous Carlson last name will finish off the season, and fans are at a loss:

Waiting in the wings to take over for the younger Carlson brother is third-year walk-on Ben Patton, who has made one extra point this season, and redshirt freshman walk-on Evan McGuire. Neither of the kickers has ever attempted an in-game field goal for Auburn football.

It’s too soon to say if it’s the end of an era for the Carlsons on the Plains, but the team will certainly miss #26 for the last two regular-season matchups.