Injured players will practice

AUBURN | No. 8 Auburn needs all hands on deck for its game at No. 17 Texas A&M. And four days before its trip to College Station, it’s looking more likely the Tigers will have All-American defensive tackle Derrick Brown, All-SEC left tackle Prince Tega Wanogho and talented receiver Seth Williams back in the starting lineup.

“Well, they’re going to practice today,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “But those are three impact players, now. Your impact players, when you play league games especially on the road, they’re very important. So we’ll see how they move around and how they do today.”

Malzahn said all three will practice “in some capacity” Tuesday afternoon along with backup wide receiver Shedrick Jackson. Backup Buck linebacker Derick Hall is doubtful after injuring his knee against Kent State last Saturday.

Brown suffered a chest contusion in the first half of the Kent State game and did not return. Wanogho was held out of the KSU game due to a knee injury. Williams was also held out after landing on his shoulder making a catch against Tulane in week two.

“(Williams) worked hard on his rehab last week,” Malzahn said. “He told me after it happened he’s determined to get back so that’s a positive. At the same time, we’ll see how he moves around today and see what he can do. We’ll need to make sure that he’s in a good spot before we play him.”

Malzahn is hoping to further strengthen the receiving corps by freeing starter Anthony Schwartz from the club he’s worn over his left hand and wrist the previous two games. He caught his first pass of the season against the Golden Flashes.

“There’s gonna be still probably some protection. We’re hoping it won’t be the club that it was last week,” Malzahn said. “But he did catch a ball with the club. As a matter of fact, he made a really good catch. So no matter what he has on his hands, we’re going to throw it to him.”

Kickoff at Kyle Field is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.