Will Hastings and Eli Stove aren't used to being the healthy ones.

After a combined three knee surgeries since spring 2018 and a long offseason of grueling rehab, Hastings and Stove were the Tigers' offensive leaders Saturday night in their home opener, combining for 106 total yards and a pair of touchdowns in Auburn's 24-6 win over Tulane.

“It felt really, really good," Hastings said. "Just thank God that I stayed healthy after everything I’ve gone through. It was awesome getting into the end zone and just celebrating with my teammates.”

Even before star receiver Seth Williams' shoulder injury forced him to exit the game, Stove and Hastings were the preferred options for true freshman quarterback Bo Nix, who targeted the pair a combined 22 times.

Stove caught seven balls — a career-high — for 27 yards and scored on a 4-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter. This comes after he hauled in his first career receiving TD last week.

"It’s very rewarding," Stove said. "It’s just great to be out there, really. Missing the whole year and sitting on the sidelines kinda hurts after every loss. It just feels good to be out there."

Hastings, who now leads the team in receiving yards this season with 119, caught five passes for 75 yards and a score. He, too, found the end zone in the second quarter after corralling a pass over the middle from Nix, spinning out of a tackle inside the 10 and and dragging another defender across the goal-line for a 31-yard touchdown.

The senior said the ability to make a play after the catch was refreshing assurance that his legs are back under him.

“It makes me feel 10 times better," Hastings said of his touchdown. "It makes me feel a lot better that I know that my knees are good and that I’m ready to play for good.”

Both Stove and Hastings suffered torn ACLs in March 2018. Both were able to return in limited roles last season before Hastings re-injured his knee midway through the season and needed another surgery.

“Eli’s my brother," Hastings said. "He’ll be my brother until I die. Us going through that together was probably the hardest time in both our lives. I talked to him, and that dude — I love him to death. That put us through a time in our lives that we never experienced.

"He’d never really been hurt; I’d never really been hurt. It just made us bond together so close and be brothers. He’s like my real brother now. Anything that happens to him, I get super worried about; any time he does great, I get so excited for him. It’s just awesome being able to see both of us out there playing the game we love.”

After over a year-and-a-half of waiting, the tight-knit receivers are finally seeing their patience pay off on the field in starting — and scoring — roles.

“When I went in, I finally just realized that all the hard work — people say they finally see the hard work pay off, and I was kind of like, ‘No way.' But I finally got in that end zone and finally realized all the hard work paid off," Hastings said. "It was awesome being able to get in there and celebrate with my teammates and just having fun in Jordan-Hare again.”