March 31, 2018
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- There was a familiar sight at Auburn's scrimmage Saturday. It was fourth down from the opponents' 45-yard line. Gus Malzahn had a decision to make -- go for it, punt it or kick the long field goal. He asked his kicker, "Are you good?" The response? "I'm good."
Then a Carlson stepped up and drilled a 62-yard field goal.
That's happened time and again over the past four seasons as coaches, teammates and fans alike had grown used to seeing Daniel Carlson routinely knock down field goals from 50-plus yards and even a couple from 60-plus in practice or in scrimmages. But on Saturday, it wasn't Daniel who drilled the long field goal. It was his younger brother, Anders Carlson, a redshirt freshman for the Tigers.
"It was a good day overall," Anders said. "I had a chance to kick it 62. It was smooth operation, and I just booted it through. Can't complain."
"I thought that was a positive," Malzahn said. "He had a really good day last Saturday, too. So the kicking game, I'm feeling good about at this point."
Not even Daniel, who made 92 field goals during his time at Auburn, made one from 60-plus yards in a game. His longest kick was from 56 yards out. But Anders says he's confident anywhere from 62 to 65 yards out and thinks he could even make one from that far out in a game environment.
"Yeah, distance-wise I feel 62 is not anything if there's no wind," Anders said. "But it's all about accuracy. In the game, you get an extra five yards because of the adrenaline and whatever. But I feel confident."
"He's got a huge leg," Daniel said back in December while the Tigers were preparing for the Peach Bowl. "And I think that's what people are going to be able to see. It's hard to remember when I was redshirting, but I think he's right there or even better than I was at that age. He's just got a very smooth swing and a big leg."
Daniel, who is on campus preparing for next month's NFL draft, was at the scrimmage Saturday and got to see his younger brother make the kick.
"He got to enjoy it," Anders said. "It was alumni day, so he's right in his new role."
The rest of Saturday's practice featured situational work -- two-minute drill, red zone, etc. -- along with live punt return and live kickoff and kickoff return. The scrimmage itself was focused more on the second- and third-string players as the coaches wanted to give more opportunities to the younger players to see how they would respond.
With Jarrett Stidham still limited, the two younger quarterbacks - Malik Willis and Joey Gatewood - took the majority of the snaps during the scrimmage portion and cut down on the turnovers that plagued them the week before.
"I think Chip (Lindsey) is pleased with where they're at, with their progression," Malzahn said. "You got to keep in mind he's throwing everything at them.
"Like I said last time, Joey has to have the whole volume of offense and the install. A lot of times you have a guy come in like that, and he's the three or four guy. Well, right now in the spring because of Jarrett's situation with us holding him, he's the two guy. But that'll be really good for the future. There's nothing better than doing it.
"And then Malik getting the reps with the ones this spring, that'll really pay off next year and into the future."
Fans will get a chance to see this year's Auburn team in person for the first time next Saturday at A-Day when the Tigers square off against each other at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Tickets are $5. Click here for more information.
"Smooth operation."
🗣@_anderscarlson_ on his 62-yard FG in @AuburnFootball scrimmage.
"A good day overall." pic.twitter.com/Lh0ToxcUFq-- Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) March 31, 2018
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf