Durkin Gives Update on Injured Auburn DB Champ Anthony

Champ Anthony was listed as "out" on Auburn's Wednesday injury report.

Auburn Tigers safety Champ Anthony has battled multiple injuries throughout his career. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

AUBURN, Ala.-- The initial injury report for the Auburn Tigers was released Wednesday night, revealing that team captain and defensive back Champ Anthony would miss Saturday's game against Vanderbilt.

Auburn interim head coach DJ Durkin provided an update on Thursday afternoon on Anthony, who missed multiple games this season due to a thumb injury.

“Its a day-to-day thing, I’m certainly hopeful that for our team and for him (that he returns),” Durkin stated on Thursday afternoon. "You cannot find a more committed guy to his team. Tremendous competitor, and he makes a difference. He has a positive effect on those around him, so when he’s on the field it’s big for us, and we’ll fight like crazy to see how soon we’ll get him back.”

Anthony has already missed a significant amount of time this season. He broke his thumb during Auburn’s season opener against Baylor and missed Auburn’s next two games against Ball State and South Alabama as a result. Since his return, Anthony has been playing with a cast on his hand. 

Anthony has battled injuries throughout his time on the plains. Last season, Anthony was carted off the field when Auburn hosted the Arkansas Razorbacks early in the season. Unfortunately for Anthony, the injury bug is something that he can’t seem to escape.

Auburn has not released the specifics of the injury he suffered this time around, other than that it is a leg injury with no specific timetable for his return other than Durkin's day-to-day designation. 

Anthony’s replacement when he was initially injured this season was redshirt senior Jahquez Robinson. Even when Anthony did return from his thumb injury earlier this season, Robinson still saw a significant amount of playing time for the Auburn defense. 

Robinson will likely take on the strong safety role full time now alongside Kaleb Harris at the free safety position. The Auburn defense tends to rotate their players significantly, so one could expect other safeties to get significant playing time as well. 

In Auburn’s last matchup against the Kentucky Wildcats, Robinson posted three total tackles. On the season thus far, Robinson has 16 total tackles which 15 of them are solo tackles. 

With no timetable for Anthony’s return, the entire Auburn safety room will be put to the test against some high powered offenses remaining on the schedule, starting with traveling to Nashville, Tennessee to take on Diego Pavia and the Vanderbilt Commodores this Saturday afternoon, whose offense averages 37.6 points per game.