Auburn Tigers QB Jackson Arnold sends pointed message after Damari Alston departure

After a tough loss against the Georgia Bulldogs over the weekend, the Auburn Tigers faced another loss on Monday with the news that senior running back and team captain Damari Alston is no longer with the program.

Head coach Hugh Freeze addressed the situation in his press conference on Monday, stating that Alston "failed to meet the standards and expectations of our program." He later clarified that Alston had not done anything "horribly wrong" and that his statement was not a take on Alston's character.

Athletics Director John Cohen shed a little more light on the matter with his comments, noting that players sometimes have to make the best decisions for themselves when money and agents are involved in today's NIL landscape.

Still, it's not a great look for a senior who was elected team captain by his teammates to part ways with the team halfway through the season when the team is facing extreme adversity. Auburn Tigers quarterback Jackson Arnold spoke with the media on Wednesday and shared a pointed message in the wake of Alston's departure.

“Look, it sucks having 3 losses in a row, but Keldric [Faulk] and Champ [Anthony] made a great point after the game," Arnold said in a video clip from The Barn on X. "If you don’t wanna be here, then don’t be here. For those guys that wanna stay hungry and stay in the fight, they’re gonna come back to work…”

While Anthony, another team captain, was one of the many players to share an encouraging message with Alston on social media this week, it's clear that the other team captains and the rest of the team are determined not to let Alston's departure get the team down.

Missouri is up next, and it's clear the team is focused on securing its first conference win in Jordan-Hare Stadium.