Notebook: Kerryon Johnson is 'as tough as it gets'

1005143210051432

Nov. 26, 2017

By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com

AUBURN, Ala. -- For the second time in three weeks, there was a party inside Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday night. The fans were cheering loud enough that it caused Alabama to miss snaps on back-to-back plays. The players were dancing during TV timeouts. It was a crazy atmosphere.

But for a moment, the party came to a screeching halt.

Auburn running back Kerryon Johnson took a handoff, his 30th of the game, made one cut and then fell to the ground without being touched. A silence fell over the crowd as they all held their breath hoping it wasn't as bad it looked, hoping their star would be able to return the following week when the Tigers played in the SEC championship game.

Soon, that silence was replaced with a chant of "Kerryon, Kerryon, Kerryon."

Then, Johnson got up and walked off the field under his own power. As it turns out, the injury might not be all that significant after all. According to Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, it was a "shoulder issue." He didn't reveal any more details than that, but after the game, Johnson tweeted out "Thank you crowd!!! I will be fine!!! Luv y'all."

Before the injury, Johnson was battling for every yard. He turned his 30 carries into 104 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run in the third quarter. Seventy-six of his 104 rushing yards came after contact, according to Pro Football Focus, and he forced seven missed tackles between his 30 carries and three receptions.

"Kerryon is as tough as it gets," Malzahn said. "He had 30 rushing attempts again. He wants to win. He's a tough guy."

Johnson also threw his first touchdown pass of the season Saturday. It was third-and-2 from the Alabama 3-yard line, and the junior running back lined up in the Wildcat. Everybody in the stadium thought he was going to run it, but instead he took the snap, faked like he was going to run, and threw a jump pass to a wide-open Nate-Craig Myers.

"We worked that all week," Craig-Myers said. "We just felt like it was the right time to call that play."

Johnson has now accounted for 20 touchdowns on the season. Auburn fans just hope he's healthy enough to add to that number when the Tigers play in Atlanta next Saturday.

Playing through pain

There were question marks all week as to whether Auburn linebacker Tre' Williams would play in Saturday's Iron Bowl. The senior has been dealing with a shoulder injury throughout most of the season, and he re-aggravated it the week before against Louisiana Monroe.

But it was the Iron Bowl. It was No. 1 Alabama. And it was the last game Williams would ever play inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

"It doesn't matter," Williams said. "Around this time, I'd play without one leg. I'll do anything. I'll give my all to Auburn because Auburn gave their all to me."

Williams, who wore a neck roll and a brace on his arm, finished tied for third on the team with five tackles, and he also recovered a fumble in the first quarter. It was his first fumble recovery of the season and the second of his career.

As for the extra padding, it was more for his mind than his body.

"It's all a mind thing," Williams said. "I just want to feel protected. It doesn't always help, but it keeps me mentally sane."

Stat of the game

Looking at the box score from Saturday's game, Auburn had more total yards, more sacks, more red-zone opportunities. But the stat that stands out as the biggest difference in the game was third-down conversions. The Auburn offense converted 9 of 18 third downs in the game, and the defense held Alabama to just 3 of 11 on third down.

The Crimson Tide didn't convert their first third down until the fourth quarter.

"I'm just so impressed with our third-down defense," Malzahn said. "We were concerned about that, but they didn't convert a third down until the fourth quarter. That's big-time."

After Saturday, the Tigers have now allowed just a 33 percent conversion rate on third down (65 of 197) this season, tied for second-best in the SEC.

Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf