No one has had more bad luck during the past two seasons than Champ Anthony.
The Auburn safety was playing his best football in 2024 after taking over as a starter, but a broken leg against Arkansas cost him the rest of the season. On his return in the season-opening game against Baylor the next year, the Fort Worth, Texas, native broke his thumb in the win against the Bears. While he was able to return in a limited capacity, his season came to another end in the 10-3 loss to Kentucky after he injured the same leg he had broken the year before.
He returns to the Tigers for his fourth season, and although he isn’t taking part in spring practice, his leadership is still valuable for Alex Golesh and his coaching staff.
"It'd be awesome to have him — he's such a vocal leader back there," Golesh said Tuesday. "He's truly the pulse of the secondary. You can hear him from just about anywhere. He's working really hard to get back."
Champ Anthony ready to roll this fall
Unlike most of the roster, Auburn’s safety and nickel group stayed almost fully intact, with Anthony, Sylvester Smith, Kaleb Harris, Anquon Fegans and Eric Winters all deciding to stay on the Plains after the coaching change. A huge part of that was Golesh keeping DJ Durkin on as defensive coordinator.
"At the center of that nucleus is Coach Durkin," Anthony said. "I'm glad we were able to stay and rally around him."
Despite the string of bad luck, Anthony is looking forward to being a contributor for the Tigers again once the season starts.
"This staff came in and is taking everything real slow, especially with my history and how the surgery went," Anthony said. "Even when I'm 100 percent, I'm not sure they'll let me go (this spring). But you best believe I'll be ready for fall camp."