When the Auburn Tigers take to Nissan Stadium for their Music City Bowl dance with the Maryland Terrapins, they’ll do so without three veteran defenders.

Defensive backs DJ James and Nehemiah Pritchett, as well as defensive lineman Marcus Harris are expected to opt out of the bowl game, head coach Hugh Freeze revealed during his press conference Saturday.

“I’ve tried to get confirmation with all of that because I never like to speak… and sometimes I say things that are not exactly accurate and I don’t like doing that. It’s not intentional,” Freeze said. “I believe DJ (James) and (Nehemiah) Pritchett will not play. As I believe that of Marcus Harris, also. I think those guys will decide to opt out.

While James and Pritchett are each out of eligibility, Harris announced Dec. 12 that he’d be foregoing his final year of eligibility and declaring for the NFL Draft.

Without James and Pritchett playing against Maryland, Auburn will be looking to replace guys who combined for 60 total tackles, 13 pass breakups and three interceptions through the course of the regular season.

Fortunately for the Tigers, Freeze said Saturday that he expected Jaylin Simpson to play in the bowl game, despite having already accepted a Senior Bowl invite.

“He’s nursing that hamstring some, but I just met with him and he has intentions to play,” Freeze said of Simpson.

The fact that Keionte Scott announced Monday that he’d be returning to The Plains for his senior season also comes as a relief to Auburn’s secondary, which will now be thin against Maryland. Meanwhile Auburn also boasts young talent in the secondary in guys like Kayin Lee, JD Rhym, Colton Hood and JC Hart — all whom are bound to see increased action this postseason.

“I just told these young guys, they’re going to get thrown in there. Truthfully, you’re going to get those young corners in for sure,” Freeze said. “It will be good to see how they prepare for a game and then go play a very talented football team.”

The loss of Harris, on the other hand, might be a more difficult void to fill.

During the 2023 regular season, Harris tallied 40 total tackles and 11 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Harris added another seven sacks to his regular-season resume. Both Harris’ number of TFLs and sacks led the Tigers in 2023.

Without Harris available along the offensive front, Auburn will likely look to Jayson Jones, Justin Rogers and Zykeivous Walker to fill in. Each member of that trio appeared in all 12 of Auburn’s games in 2023 with Walker leading the way with 20 tackles, two tackles for a loss and a sack.

Freeze said some of Auburn’s younger defensive linemen will also be thrown into the mix.

“Up front we are a little thin now with Mosiah (Nasili-Kite) being out and Marcus choosing not to play,” Freeze said. “It’s next man up. We’ve got to get some of these young guys in there. Some DJ Reeds, some (Quientrail Jamison-Travis), throw them in there and see how they do.”