NASHVILLE — Senior tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen will not play today, and could be out the rest of the season, Rivals.com is reporting.
Lutzenkirchen did go through Tiger Walk and was on the field with the Tigers for their pregame prayer circle at Vanderbilt, and was lingering soon after around the trainer’s table in his warmups without being worked on. The Rivals report said a hip injury could sideline him potentially for the rest of his Auburn career.
At 7:10 a.m. Saturday morning, Lutzenkirchen tweeted the following: “God has a plan for me and will guide me through this storm. 🙏 War Eagle”, without elaboration.
Lutzenkirchen is on the field with the Tigers in white warmups and a blue baseball cap.
Auburn’s all-time touchdown reception leader among tight ends, Lutzenkirchen ranks second on the team with 15 cathes for 139 yards, and has not caught a touchdown pass this season. He has not recorded 30 or more receiving yards in a game since the season opener against Clemson.
Lutzenkirchen is currently four catches away from matching Cooper Wallace’s school-record 63 receptions by a tight end. The Marietta, Ga. native has 59 catches for 628 yards, third-best among Tigers tight ends.
He was a candidate for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award this season, though Lutzenkirchen was not among the 10 finalists announced earlier this week.
In other news, center Reese Dismukes, cornerback Chris Davis and defensive end Dee Ford are all in uniform, after not traveling last week to Ole Miss. Defensive tackle Jeffrey Whitaker is with the team but not in pads today.
Reserve safety Erique Florence and reserve running back Mike Blakely did not make the trip. Florence has seen playing time in 3rd-down packages, while Blakely has not carried the ball in two of the past three games.
Two offensive line backups did not appear to make the trip: guard Christian Westerman and right tackle Avery Young. Miller gets the fourth straight start over Young, who coaches have given mixed signals on his health status.
The absence of Whitaker, Florence, Blakely and Young has not been disclosed.