The Auburn Tigers haven’t had the year they expected to have, but at 5-3, this can still be a great season for Gus Malzahn’s crew.

They’re on a bye this weekend, and then host a tough Texas A&M squad. Ahead of that matchup, though, they’ll need to get a couple of key players — CB Jamel Dean and RB JaTarvious “Boobee” Whitlow.

On Tuesday, Malzahn said the team believes it will have Dean back against the Aggies in a couple of weeks:

The news is much less clear about Whitlow, and Malzahn wasn’t ready to give a firm update about his status on Tuesday:

The good news is that Whitlow has another week and a half to get ready, so it’s possible he could be back on the field. We’ll probably get more updates on his status as the week goes on, though.