AUBURN, Ala. – Morning after morning, long before sunrise, Will Hastings and Eli Stove would meet Auburn director of physical therapy David Walsh to work on strengthening their surgically repaired knees.
Located next to the locker room in the Auburn Athletic complex, the physical therapy suite is only a few steps from the practice fields.
So close, yet so far away.
"Every day, 5:45 in the morning," Stove said. "Three hours. A whole lot of rehabbing.""
They paid the price. Now they're reaping the rewards. Stove and Hastings each scored first half touchdowns Saturday in Auburn's 24-6 victory over Tulane.
"We've been through a lot," Stove said. "It's very worth it now. Now I look back, I'm glad I did all those step-ups."
"For me and Eli, I know it's a blessing for both of us," Hastings said. "I know he's super excited and I'm just excited to be back out there with the team and being able to contribute."
On his 31-yard TD reception, Hastings caught Bo Nix's pass at the 15, then spun away from a defender at the 5 on his way to the end zone.
"It makes me feel 10 times better," said Hastings, who endured two knee surgeries in 2018. "It makes me a feel a lot better that I know that my knees are good and I'm ready to play."
SWEET FEET
No fan of the fair catch, Auburn punt returner Christian Tutt is loath to raise his arm when there are yards to be gained.
"I'm not trying to fair catch," Tutt said. "I'm trying to go."
Against Tulane, Tutt, whom teammate Jeremiah Dinson refers to as "Sweet Feet," gained 50 yards on three punt returns, averaging 17 yards per return with a long of 22. Tutt believes Auburn's punt return unit is on the verge of taking one all way the back.
"I'm just trying to stay patient, trying to find a crease," he said. "I've got the best blockers in the country so I'm just trying to depend on them, find a crease and get vertical."
The sophomore defensive back also made two tackles and helped Auburn's defense hold Tulane without a touchdown.
"We just played Auburn defense," he said. "We're a great third down team. Coach Steele, he emphasized that since spring ball. We try to really work on third downs and get off the field.
"I've just got to play to the level of everybody else, all the veteran guys. I know they've got my back so I'm just trying to play for them."
DESHAUN RETURNS
The leader of Auburn's defense last season, linebacker Deshaun Davis returned to Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday, serving as honorary mic man and signing pregame autographs.
"It's a dream come true coming back on the Plains, knowing everything I put on this field," said Davis, who earned first-team All-SEC honors last season. "Just to see my young guys, my little brothers, out here now. They're taking the torch and they're trying to run with it. It's kind of different being a fan and not being able to control anything in the game but I'm excited to see these boys play."
"They're taking the torch & they're trying to run with it."
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) September 8, 2019
🗣@_Davis_Boy12
Welcome back, Deshaun!#WarEagle | #AUNextLevel pic.twitter.com/Ce6523Is9D
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer