After missing most of last season due to serious health issues, Auburn Tigers kicker Alex McPherson made a triumphant return to the game this year. However, McPherson's health issues are ongoing, and head coach Hugh Freeze has said the kicker's status will be assessed game-by-game.
So far this year, McPherson has handled the short-range kicks, while Towns McGough has handled kickoffs and mid- and long-range field goals. McPherson kicked a 21-yard field goal against Baylor and five PATs, and he attempted no field goals against Ball State but kicked six PATs.
McGough attempted a 52-yard field goal that ended up being short in the Ball State game and left the field with an ankle injury, which led to Southern Miss transfer Connor Gibbs handling kickoffs for the rest of the game. Freeze was so impressed with Gibbs that he told the media after the game that the team would be having a competition for long-range kicking in practice on Tuesday.
“Man, did Connor ever come in and blow our doors off,” Freeze said during his weekly radio show, per AL.com. “You gotta tip your hat to a guy that comes in -- he hadn’t had his shot and here he goes.”
Unfortunately, according to AL.com's Peter Rauterkus, neither McGough nor Gibbs had a great day of practice on Tuesday. Rauterkus reported that both kickers went 2-for-3 from around 40 yards out, and then at the end of the 11-on-11 period Gibbs attempted a field goal with crowd noise playing and missed.
While at Southern Miss in 2024, Gibbs completed 10 of 13 field goal attempts, his longest being 59 yards. McGough is now 5-13 on field goals during his time at Auburn.