Pre-game blitz

 

AUBURN | After a preseason of uncertainty, senior defender Robenson Therezie was officially cleared to play late this week and was dressed and going through warmups at the Star position during pre-game.

Therezie's status was uncertain during fall drills due to what Gus Malzahn referred to as eligibility issues. His status for the Arkansas game was confirmed by Auburn sports information director Kirk Sampson in a post on Twitter Friday night.

"Robenson Therezie is eligible to play for @FootballAU and will be in uniform Saturday in the opener," Sampson tweeted.

FIVE-STAR NO-SHOWS: Two of the Tigers' most highly coveted recruiting targets had to cancel their trips to Auburn this weekend after suffering injuries in their respective games Friday night. Five-star offensive tackle Martez Ivey, who was scheduled to officially visit, injured his knee in Apopka's 28-23 loss to Oak Ridge. Five-star 2016 wide receiver Nate Craig, an Auburn commitment, injured his ankle in Tampa Catholic's 23-6 loss to Madison County.

Ivey, who lists Auburn and Florida as his top two, plans to reschedule his official for later this fall. His knee injury is still being evaluated. Craig hopes to make it up to a couple of Auburn games this season.

A couple of five-stars did make the trip. JUCO running back Jovon Robinson, an Auburn commitment, is here on his official visit. Birmingham (Ala.) Shades Valley defensive tackle Daron Payne, who is expected to choose Auburn or Alabama, is also in Auburn for the game.

QUICK HITTERS:

Two Arkansas cornerbacks did not make the trip to Auburn for Saturday's game. Senior Tevin Mitchel, who has started 24 career games, is out with a hamstring injury. Junior Will Hines, who has 15 career starts, is out with an undisclosed issue and may redshirt this season.

Wetumpka (Ala.) High center Brandon Kennedy, an Alabama commitment, is in Auburn for the Arkansas game. Kennedy chose the Tide over the Tigers on July 18. He plans to return to Auburn for the LSU game.

Two of Auburn's top 2016 targets came to the game together. Columbus (Ga.) Carver 4-star quarterback Jawon Pass and Phenix City (Ala.) Central 4-star cornerback John Broussard were on the sidelines before the game. Another top 2016 target, Montgomery (Ala.) Carver 5-star linebacker Lyndell Wilson, was also at the game.

Perkinston (Miss.) Gulf Coast athlete Jason Smith, an Auburn commit, was at the game along with his teammate, 3-star defensive tackle Maurice Swain.

Auburn four-star offensive line commit Tyler Carr was at Saturday's game. Carr missed the first two games of his senior season with an illness but plans to return to action this Friday.

Sophomore Montravius Adams was announced as a starting defensive end in place of sophomore Elijah Daniel before the game. Daniel was dressed and going through warmups. Senior Cameron Artis-Payne was listed as the starting running back and senior Brandon Fulse the starting tight end.

Auburn's captains for the game are seniors Reese Dismukes and Gabe Wright.

AuburnSports.com publisher Jay G. Tate, senior editors Bryan Matthews and Jeffrey Lee, and staff writer Allie Davison all contributed to this story.

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