Published Sep 27, 2019
Sweet Feet a weapon on defense and special teams
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Bryan Matthews  •  AuburnSports
Senior Editor
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@BMattAU

AUBURN | Christian Tutt is quickly becoming a key weapon for No. 7 Auburn.

The sophomore plays just about every snap at nickel on defense and has also become a dangerous punt returner. Dangerous enough to even worry his own teammates, especially when he fielded a Texas A&M punt at Auburn’s 4-yard line in the third quarter only to return it 22 yards.

“That one kind of scared me a little bit, because I was like, ‘Oh, oh, oh, OK— no, no, no, no, yes, yes, yes, OK. OK,’” senior safety Jeremiah Dinson said. “But, man, he’s got to take chances. You want a guy back there that takes chances like that, and he just brings all the intangibles, man.

“I call him ‘Sweet Feet’ for a reason; he makes good plays, and that play right there I’m talking about, that was a good play.”

Tutt also had a 30-yard return in the first quarter set up Auburn’s second touchdown as the Tigers came away with a 28-20 win at Kyle Field last Saturday.

He’s currently fourth in the SEC averaging 16.6 yards per punt return. While it’s early, that’s a good bit more than Ryan Davis’ 9.9 average last season.

“He had two big punt returns,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “He’s got great courage and it takes great courage. Their punter is outstanding. Sometimes he was kicking it 60+ yards. That one I think he is standing on the 22-yard line and he ends up catching it on the four. He kind of lost track and then he made something positive out of it.

“He’s got the ability to do really well and I think he’ll probably return one for a touchdown before the end of the season.”

Tutt is also excelling at nickel where he’s got 11 tackles, 10 of which are solo and 1.0 tackle-for-loss. His open field hit on Aggie tight end Jalen Wydermyer for a 1-yard loss early in the first quarter helped set the tone for an impressive defensive performance.

Not bad for a player Dinson jokingly refers to as a “finesse tackler.”

“He gets you on the ground. That’s the main thing,” Dinson said. “You find any way you can get them on the ground, get somebody on the ground and just go to the next play.”

No. 7 Auburn returns to action this Saturday against Mississippi State. Kickoff at Jordan-Hare Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.