Two Key Auburn Defenders Expected to Be Healthy for Florida Game After Missing Week 2

Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin catches a break with two of his standout defensive pieces returning to the lineup this weekend.

Auburn Tigers buck Chris Murray (3) is expected to return this weekend against Florida, as well as edge rusher Da'Shawn Womack. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Auburn Tigers’ defense has notably been without two of its top pieces, Da’Shawn Womack and Chris Murray, since both were injured during the Tigers’ season-opener against Baylor and missed out on playing in the Tigers’ Week 2 tune-up against Southern Miss.

However, according to Justin Ferguson, both now appear healthy and are practicing ahead of the Tigers’ SEC opener against Florida, a welcome sign for the Auburn faithful.

In the Baylor game, the Tigers struggled to pressure DJ Lagway after the two were removed with injury, sacking the Florida transfer just a single time, courtesy of Xavier Atkins on the very first Baylor drive of the game. Womack and Murray are still looking for their breakout games since transferring over, and the Florida game could be the perfect opportunity for them to make their mark.

Womack, a former Ole Miss Rebel, was a four-star transfer this past offseason when he made the choice to leave Pete Golding and Oxford behind in favor of the Plains and new head coach Alex Golesh. A former five-star recruit, Womack’s impact has been heavily anticipated for some time now, and the Florida game may well be where we first see the impact the Maryland native can bring.

Murray, a Sam Houston transfer who played with the Tigers last season, played in all 12 games for DJ Durkin in 2025, totaling 15 tackles, 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble over the course of the season. Keldric Faulk and Keyron Crawford, the Tigers’ two top edge rushers in 2025, stole the spotlight from Murray for a good bit of the season, and now, paired with Womack, Murray has the chance to prove that he should have been utilized much more and much sooner. 

The Tigers’ defensive line, now complete with Womack and Murray, has held up fine in the time it has needed to operate without the pair, as Cody Sigler, in particular, has been quite the impact player over the course of the last two games. 

The two couldn’t have gotten healthy at a better time, though, as the easy part of the season for the Tigers is over–if matchups against Baylor and Southern Miss can be considered ‘easy’-and Florida is the first of a long line of very difficult games for the Tigers, who are now entering SEC play.

Enjoy our content? Make AuburnOnSI a preferred source to see more stories from us on Google by clicking here.