COLUMBUS, Ga. | Auburn expects Kevin Steele’s defense to be fully loaded come August 31.

Gus Malzahn said last month that all the Tigers who missed time in spring ball due to injury — receiver Will Hastings, defensive tackle Daquan Newkirk, safety Smoke Monday and nickelback Jordyn Peters — are expected to shed their orange non-contact practice jerseys and be ready to face Oregon in the season opener.

Following his second ACL surgery Hastings was cleared for contact after Auburn’s 2019 A-Day spring game. He’ll play a redshirt senior year after falling under the four-game redshirt threshold last season. Monday underwent shoulder surgery early in the spring, but that didn’t stop him from improving his football IQ and leadership, defensive backs coach Wes McGriff told reporters earlier this month.

Buck defensive end Big Kat Bryant and linebacker Chandler Wooten also missed some time with a shoulder procedure and an A-Day injury, respectively, but neither situations are expected to linger through fall camp.

Newkirk and Peters were both forced to navigate the football complex on scooters in the spring as the pair nursed their delicate foot injuries. But both have progressed enough in the offseason to maintain Malzahn’s confidence that Auburn will be completely healthy when the season begins.

“So far, so good,” Malzahn told reporters before an Auburn AMBUSH tour stop in Columbus. “They’re ahead of schedule, and we’re very hopeful to have them for the first of the season.”

A rising junior from Muscle Shoals, Peters found his niche in the orange and blue last season. He logged 24 tackles, 3.5 TFLs and a forced fumble in 2018, sure, but the 6-foot-1 DB made his living on fourth down. He blocked a trio of punts — including one that was scooped up by Devin Barrett for a touchdown against Alabama State — ranking first in the SEC and second in the nation.

He can play safety in addition to nickel, but with Monday returning, alongside Daniel Thomas, Jeremiah Dinson and Jamien Sherwood, expect Peters to contribute near the linebackers at the star position this year.

Newkirk, on the other hand, is still trying to find his footing following setback after setback. He originally signed with Auburn’s 2016 recruiting class but failed to qualify. After a pair of seasons at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, he stayed true to his original commitment, enrolling in January 2018.

Newkirk tore his achilles last spring but healed quick enough to contribute. He recorded seven tackles last year as a reserve defensive tackle before entering the spring expecting to compete with Tyrone Truesdell and Coynis Miller for Dontavius Russell’s starting defensive tackle spot, which Russell occupied for four seasons.

Then another setback hit when Malzahn announced in March that Newkirk would miss all of spring ball.

Like Peters, the details of Newkirk’s foot injury this past spring were never disclosed by Malzahn or Auburn. But whatever the case, the two are making strides in offseason workouts that are cause for optimism for the Tigers.

“(Peters and Newkirk) are working extremely hard and doing what they need to do up to this point,” Malzahn said.