Bruce Pearl updates health of Jaylin Williams following Auburn practice

Friday, Auburn forward Jaylin Williams left the Tigers’ game against Jacksonville State after a collision with Walker Kessler. Bruce Pearl provided an update on Williams during his Saturday media session.

Pearl said Williams participated in Auburn’s practice on Saturday. However, he passed concussion protocol and got some dental work done after chipped two teeth. That’s a promising update considering the nature of the injury.

Bruce Pearl confirms Jaylin Williams practiced today. He got dental work done and passed concussion protocol. He'll get checked again tonight and tomorrow morning, but sounds promising.

— Tom Green (@Tomas_Verde) March 19, 2022

Williams had eight points off the bench on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting from the field, including 2-for-2 from three-point distance. Auburn cruised to an 80-61 win over Jacksonville State to advance to the Round of 32, where it’ll take on Miami on Sunday.

On the season, Williams averages 5.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in 32 appearances for the Tigers. Tip-off between Auburn and Miami is coming up Sunday at 7:45 p.m. ET on TruTV.

Auburn players Jaylin Williams, Walker Kessler leave the court after nasty collision

With Auburn leading 55-33 with 14:28 remaining in the first half against Jacksonville State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, two Tigers were involved in a scary collision on the court. As Walker Kessler went up to block a shot, he came down and his arm swung out and hit his teammate Jaylin Williams in the mouth.

Both Kessler and Williams were left bloody from the play. Kessler had a gash on his elbow, and Williams apparently lost a tooth and remained on the court for a bit following the play.

Once Kessler and Williams walked off the court, they both departed for the Auburn locker room.

“Walker Kessler and Jaylin Williams remain in the locker room right now,” CBS’ Tracy Wolfson said. “For Jaylin Williams, he chipped his two front teeth and is in a lot of pain, I was told. Walker Kessler has an extremely large gash on his elbow, so he’s being attended to as well. They didn’t mention whether they would need stitches or not, but right now they’re undecided whether either one of those players will return [though] it seems likely in a situation like this.”

Kessler returned to the court with just under 12 minutes remaining in the game. That is incredibly impressive, especially considering that he could have had parts of Williams’ teeth in his elbow.

Auburn eventually won the game 80-61 to move on in the NCAA Tournament. Kessler finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds nine blocks while Williams’ day ended with an eight-point performance for the Tigers.