Defensive end Jomarcus Savage, safety Christian Thompson and linebacker Marcus Jemison are no longer with the team and will not return, an athletic department spokesman confirmed this afternoon.
No reason was given for the players' departures. Auburn head coach Gene Chizik was on vacation and unavailable for comment.
All three players were members of Auburn's 2008 recruiting class and figured to factor into the Tigers' plans this season in backup roles.
Thompson, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound sophomore from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was in line for most playing time of the three. Although he played sparingly last season, he was part of a three-man crew set to back up starters Mike McNeil and Zac Etheridge. Safeties coach Tommy Thigpen was pleased with Thompson's potential this spring, 
singling him out as the best tackler of the group. His departure leaves Drew Cole and Mike Slade as Auburn's remaining backup safeties.
- Savage, a 6-foot-2, 287-pound lineman from Huntsville, Ala., redshirted last year after being hampered by shoulder problems during August's two-a-days. He had season-ending surgery in September
to correct the problem and finished the spring as a third-string defensive tackle.
- Jemison, a safety-turned-linebacker from outside of Birmingham, broke his leg during Auburn’s first scrimmage last August and missed the season. The 6-foot-2, 199-pound redshirt freshman moved to linebacker this spring to help the Tigers add depth to the position. He too was a third-teamer.
Linebacker Tray Blackmon is trying to make the roster of the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders. Wide receiver Chris Slaughter left the school in early January. Two others transferred. Defensive lineman Raven Gray left for Division II Delta State and defensive back Ryan Williams, who struggled academically at Auburn, enrolled at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Wesson, Miss.
No comments:
Post a Comment