Report: Auburn safety Donovan Kaufman in walking boot, not dressed out against Mississippi State

Auburn sophomore safety Donovan Kaufman, the teams fourth-leading tackler, was spotted in a walking boot on the field during pregame warmups ahead of the Tigers contest with Mississippi State. Brian Stultz of Auburn Sports first reported the news.

Details about the injury are scant, though it’s evident that Kaufman won’t be playing on Saturday night.

Kaufman previously missed the game against Missouri this season, but appeared in the other seven Auburn games. Along with 39 total tackles, he had two passes defensed and a fumble forced this season.

It leaves the Tigers secondary shorthanded against the pass-happy scheme of Mike Leach. Not to mention, it’s the first game Auburn is playing since the firing of former head coach Bryan Harsin.

Kaufman transferred to Auburn after playing the 2020 season at Vanderbilt. This is his second season at Auburn.

Then-HC Harsin was happy to get Kaufman back after the Missouri game

Speaking with the media during the SEC Coaches Teleconference, Harsin revealed Kaufman was expected to be on the field against LSU.

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“He just wasn’t able to go last week. Tried to work through it, and really was not able to get the reps during the week of practice that he needed to go out there and play. He is day-to-day, but fully expect him to be ready to go,” Harsin said.

“Barring any setbacks or anything like that. He should be okay.”

Moreover, Harsin is a big fan of Kaufman’s, who came to the Tigers last season after spending time at Vanderbilt to begin his career. Earlier this offseason, Harsin couldn’t say enough good things about the Auburn safety.

“Donovan’s a really really intelligent football player. He’s able to get guys lined up and he understands situations, he understands what we’re trying to accomplish by the call so I think that helps. He’s also a really good special teams player so we’re trying to figure out where to put him without overloading him and getting him on too many,” Harsin said, earlier this summer.