Coming into the offseason, redshirt freshman Alex McPherson appeared to be the shoo-in for Auburn’s starting kicker spot.

During his 2023 campaign, McPherson went a perfect 40-for-40 on extra points and 13-for-13 on field goals with a season long of 53 yards.

However, after dealing with a gastrointestinal illness throughout the offseason, McPherson’s availability heading into the season remains unclear.

Fortunately, McPherson sounds to be trending in the right direction.

“He’s doing well,” Auburn special teams coordinator Tanner Burns told reporters on Wednesday. “It was a slow process to get him to where he’s at now.”

After suffering significant weight loss, Burns says McPherson is beginning to put that weight back on and is now weighing just over 140 pounds.

Burns says McPherson has also started kicking in practice again.

“Really kind of amping that up this week,” Burns said. “Health-wise and everything, he’s back to being himself.”

In McPherson’s absence, the Tigers have turned to true freshman and Auburn native Towns McGough.

“Obviously, the plan, or the goal, was to have him sit and redshirt behind McPherson,” Burns said of McGough. “Now, depending on how quick McPherson can come back, it may or may not be able to happen.”

After enrolling in January, McGough participated in Auburn’s A-Day spring game and put on a perfect 7-for-7 performance, which included the game-winning 58-yard field goal to lift Auburn’s offense to the win.

And while Burns says McGough hasn’t been perfect throughout fall camp, the rookie kicker has been efficient where it matters.

“I think he finished fall camp around the 78%, which he was 100% from 40 (yards) and in,” Burns said. “Those are the main kinds of reps you see in college football.”

With McPherson’s timetable for a return unclear, it could be McGough who jogs out onto the field for the first few kicks of the season.

And Burns isn’t sweating it, should that be the case.

“To get a guy like (McGough) as your No. 2 kicker and you feel comfortable about him being the No. 1 guy, I feel like we’ve got the two best kickers in the country,” Burns said.