New head coach. New special teams coach. But could the old Alex McPherson be back? It sounds like it, according to his position coach, Jacob Bronowski.
McPherson’s story is well known by now, as he missed all but one game in 2024 due to being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, causing the kicker to lose 55 pounds, before having his large intestine removed in December 2024, with a stoma that was connected to an ostomy bag inserted outside of his body so waste could come out.
Despite all that, McPherson returned in 2025, nailing 20-of-23 field-goal attempts while making all 35 extra-point attempts. Still, the yardage he had in the past wasn’t all there.
Alex McPherson could be a weapon again for Auburn
It might be back now, and Bronowski, who says he heavily recruited McPherson during his time at Tennessee, is excited to have him on his side.
"Obviously, he had the sickness that he had to go through, but man, I could not be more excited to be with Alex McPherson this year," the coach said. “He was a guy that I recruited really, really hard when we were at Tennessee. Obviously, he broke my heart there, but I get the last laugh."
Without his presence, Auburn struggled mightily kicking the ball in 2024, as true freshman Towns McGough couldn’t find his accuracy. With McPherson back last season, the consistency returned. Now, he can be even more of a weapon for Alex Golesh and his new staff.
“I think he can be a huge weapon," Bronowski said. "From the consistency standpoint, obviously, with what we do offensively, like you're going to have, hopefully, a couple more drives every single game with the tempo.
“Whether it's end of half, end of game, those situations with his experience in those moments, to go out there and execute at a high level, and just to right that ship at times as a field-goal kicker, I think you can do a huge service to the team by just, when things are stalling out in the red zone, it's 100% execution. You go out there and you make your field goals, it kind of rights that ship."