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Carl Lawson is the essential piece of Auburn’s defense this season.
Let me say that again: The return of a 2013 freshman All-American coming off a rehabilitated knee injury will define how well the Tigers perform on Will Muschamp’s side of the football.
Lawson returned to practice near full strength Monday with a brace on his knee 10 months after ACL surgery forced him to miss his sophomore season. Paired with incoming fellow five-star pass rusher Byron Cowart, Lawson gives Auburn a quality bookend to build around on a restructured defensive line.
“Carl’s doing well. He’s improving every day. He will be able to participate this spring,” Auburn defensive line coach Rodney Garner said Friday according to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. “Obviously, we’ve got to be smart about how we use him.
The Tigers are taking it easy with Lawson who finished second on the team with four sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss as an immediate impact defender out of Alpharetta, Ga., two years ago. Lawson was slated to become Auburn’s breakout player following Dee Ford’s exit in 2013, but suffered a serious knee injury last April and Ellis Johnson’s defense faltered as a result.
Auburn managed just 21 sacks without Lawson last season, 11th in the SEC and the fewest number as a team since the 2008 campaign.
It’ll be interesting to see how often Muschamp moves Lawson around up front to take advantage of his first-step quickness and athleticism. Muschamp made great use of the ‘Buck’ position at Florida with projected first-round pick Dante Fowler Jr., and will likely utilize Lawson in a hybrid end-linebacker role.
Dropping into coverage on a surgically-repaired knee may be asking a bit much this spring, but the Tigers will know just how far Lawson has come during the first week of fall practice when he’s expected to be unleashed so to speak.
