Tyler Johnson injury update: Hugh Freeze reveals Auburn OT battling a hamstring issue

Auburn began fall camp on Thursday ahead of a year full of expectations. Head coach Hugh Freeze has brought a palpable buzz back to the Plains, wanting to find success early on often ahead of the 2024 season. Unfortunately, there are some injuries to deal with to kick things off, with one of them being Tyler Johnson.

Freeze revealed Johnson is dealing with a hamstring problem and would not be available to practice the next two days. There did not seem to be any kind of long-term concern regarding the offensive tackle but still something to watch.

Hopefully, Johnson will be back out there sooner rather than later but hamstrings require medical staffs to be careful. Freeze thankfully believes sooner is a more likely option rather than later.

“Tyler Johnson, we will hold out today and tomorrow,” Freeze said on Thursday. “But he ran yesterday and looked good. Just a hamstring deal. I think he’s really close to being able to be back to full-go.”

Johnson is entering his second season with Auburn, redshirting last year. He did get action in three games for the Tigers but could see an even bigger role moving forward as the backup left tackle.

Auburn offensive line coach Jake Thornton gave glowing reviews of Johnson when speaking to the media during the spring. Johnson has made huge strides moving into his redshirt freshman campaign.

“He has totally transformed as a person since he’s been here,” Thornton said via On3’s AuburnLive. … “Off the field, when he got here, he was very quiet and reserved. He still has that about him, but he’s very confident person right now. When he got here in June, he was very nervous and shy.

“He’s blossomed as a person in his confidence. His teammates love him. If you guys walked into the room before the meeting now, he’d be the life of the room a little bit. I like that about him.”

So while there is a ton of optimism surrounding Johnson and what he could do for Auburn, a slight issue is stopping the progress at the moment. Getting back to full health will be the top priority, especially still a few weeks away from the opener vs. Alabama A&M.

But offensive line has been a position group of problem in the past inside the program and now has the opportunity to change. Johnson could be a huge part of the equation once back in practice.