One of the Tigers' top weapons remains sidelined with health problems.

Top kicker Alex McPherson still is searching for a firm diagnosis several months after he began experiencing strange symptoms, coach Hugh Freeze said Thursday. The initial belief was that McPherson was suffering from a bowel disorder, but treatments aimed at treating that problem haven't produced desired results.

"I think there's probably more to it than just that," Freeze said.

McPherson began experiencing symptoms during the spring, but was able to practice through the discomfort. Additional testing in May led to a diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Still, the discomfort remains and McPherson now is scheduled to be seen by specialists at UAB this week.

Freeze said last month that he expected McPherson to be ready for fall camp, which is scheduled to begin on Aug. 1. That timeline now is unclear.

If McPherson isn't available, Freeze said he has confidence in recent signee Towns McGough.

"To have two really good kickers in (McPherson) and Towns is a blessing," Freeze said. "Hopefully we have them both, but Towns seemed pretty natural in the spring game. Obviously it wasn't a stadium full of people screaming and yelling, but he didn't seem like he had too much fear about going and making a kick."

McPherson, the younger brother of Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson, went 13-for-13 on field goals last season and connected on all 40 of his point-after attempts.