AUBURN, Ala. (EETV)- After another round of COVID-19 testing, Auburn had no new positive cases this week, Gus Malzahn told media in a Friday afternoon press conference. There are still eight players out from previous rounds of testing, but Malzahn expects them back by Tuesday of next week.
This week of testing was the first that, if tested positive, the players would miss the opening game due to a two-week-long quarantine.
With only one week away from kickoff, Auburn has begun their game prep for the opener against Kentucky.
“It’s been a good week of prep, I know it’s been very good for our players and coaches start transitioning to another opponent. You can tell that it’s getting closer just from the excitement,” Malzahn said.
“You look at this Kentucky team, they are a veteran team especially up front. I think not going through spring and everything that goes with that, veteran teams will have the advantage” Malzahn said. “Watching film, I can tell that they are a very good team.”
Due to several conferences delaying the start of their seasons, Kentucky has jumped to 23rd in the latest AP Top 25 rankings. This is only the beginning of the grueling SEC-only schedule the Tigers will face this year as they are set to face ranked teams in six out of ten games this season.
Malzahn said that the team will head to Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday night to go through a situation type practice. This will be the first time the players will experience the new LED lights in a game-type situation.
“We are going to pump in some crowd noise, which will be happening this year too,” Malzahn said on getting the players ready for the new game-day environment.
This upcoming week is critical for the Tigers with COVID-19 testing and having everyone cleared to practice. Malzahn will be releasing the list of starters for the opening game in the coming days.
