Bryan Harsin believes kicker Anders Carlson could play in season opener following ACL surgery

Auburn kicker Anders Carlson announced this offseason that he will return to the program in 2022 as he recovers from ACL surgery which was required following a midseason injury. The incident occurred during an onside kick attempt in the second half of a loss to Mississippi State in November.

While speaking with the media on Tuesday, Bryan Harsin revealed that he expects Anders Carlson to work as the starting kicker in Week One against Mercer on Sept. 3.

“If everything goes well this summer, which I anticipate it would, then he’ll be ready to go,” Harsin told AL.com.

He expanded on the potential timetable for return with high praise for the work ethic and progress made so far in the spring.

“As far as the work he’s put in and the progress that he’s made, I believe he’ll be ready, and I think in his mind he’ll be ready,” Harsin said. “That’s the one thing about Anders: I know he’s a kicker, but he is the ultimate competitor, and you don’t really see many kickers have that type of energy, but to come back from that and how he’s done it and the focus that he’s got to just getting himself healthy—there’s no question in my mind that he’ll be ready to go.”

Anders is the younger brother of Las Vegas Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson, who kicked at Auburn from 2014-17 before going in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Without missing a beat, Auburn continued to use a Carlson at kicker in 2018 and beyond with the arrival of Anders.

In four seasons, the younger Carlson is 67-for-93 in 47 games with 151-of-154 extra point attempts. He also serves as Auburn’s kickoff specialist with 270 attempts and 170 touchdowns over his career.

Bryan Harsin on Anders Carlson

Bryan Harsin continued speaking about the return timeline for Anders Carlson, briefly acknowledging what the team could do if the starter is not ready to go by the opening weekend.

“We have some other guys at that position,” Harsin said. “However, you lose a lot of experience without Anders being out there, so we want to get him back as soon as possible, and I know he wants to play, so I would think that he would be ready to go by the time we go out there to play Mercer.”

Among the other options, freshman kicker Alex McPherson arrives on campus with a potential path to playing time. The highly-rated recruit is the brother of Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson.