When Auburn reached field-goal range last season, Hugh Freeze and his coaching staff had a lot of things to consider. With Alex McPherson missing most of the season due to an illness, the Tigers' struggled on field goal attempts, with Towns McGough and Ian Vachon finishing 11-of-20 with some crucial misses that cost Auburn momentum in games.

With the Tigers opening spring practice last week, there would be some focus on whether new special teams coordinator Chad Lunsford could fix the kicking woes and, more importantly if McPherson could possibly return.

So far, the news is good.

"Alex looks good," Freeze said. "He kicked today and made every single kick, I believe. He looks really good. Not to get too much in his business, but the procedures done on him seem to have been successful. I think he's got one more that needs to be done, but I believe he's going to choose to wait through the season before he does that. He looks good and has definitely gained more weight and is healthier."

McPherson was only able to kick in one game last season, going 1-for-2 in the October win at Kentucky before he was sidetracked by the illness that cost him the majority of the season. This followed a 2023 season in which he was perfect, hitting all 13 field goals and 40 extra points, earning a nod as a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award.

McGough, who entered as one of the top-ranked kickers in the 2024 class, struggled, finishing 5-of-12 before being replaced by Vachon late in the season. The Birmingham-Southern transfer went 6-of-8, making all 11 extra points, but wasn't considered the long-term answer.

The Tigers went out and signed Connor Gibbs from Southern Miss, who finished 10-of-13 with a long of 59 yards last year.

Each player is getting their chance in the first part of spring practice.

"They all have kicked pretty well in the few opportunities we've seen," Freeze said. "We haven't done that a lot yet. But I thought they all looked good today."