AUBURN | Auburn had four receptions of more than 25 yards in Saturday’s 59-14 win over UMass.

That’s not bad but producing those explosive plays in the passing game will be paramount to the Tigers’ success this season, and the competition will certainly get tougher over the next several weeks.

One player that could certainly help is junior Malcolm Johnson, who has missed a lot of time with injuries over the last couple of years.

Those injuries followed Johnson into fall camp but he was able to suit up Saturday and catch two passes for 59 yards against the Minutemen.

“It was good to see Malcolm,” said AU coach Hugh Freeze. “Malcolm is fast. He’s one of the faster guys on our team. He’s been hurt all of fall camp, so if he comes on, I think that gives us even more capability of deep threats.”

Johnson entered the season with eight receptions for 110 yards and one touchdown. He's now averaging 16.9 yards per catch in his career. He's also become a key leader in the wideout room.

“He’s been fighting through adversity so just seeing him overcoming all those injuries was something that I was pretty excited to see,” said Jay Fair, who led AU with five catches for 56 yards and a touchdown.

Auburn (1-0) returns to action Saturday at California. Kickoff at California Memorial Stadium is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.