What could’ve been significantly bad news now has a brighter side to it.
Last week, wide receiver Eli Stove underwent surgery for a torn ACL that he suffered during Auburn’s first practice of the spring. While it was thought the injury and subsequent rehab could very well knock the receiver out for the entire season, Gus Malzahn stated that he expects Stove to play at some point in 2018 -- perhaps even early in the season.
“We’ll see how everything goes,” the head coach said by way of al.com. “He’s in good shape and the surgery went well.”
Six months out from the surgery, a general timeline for ACL rehab, would be mid-September, so it’s not far from the realm of possibility that Stove could see the field the first month of the season.
As a sophomore in 2017, Stove caught 29 passes for 265 yards, the former total which tied him for second on the team He also ran the ball 30 times for 315 yards and two touchdowns, which made him the Tigers’ third-leading rusher yardage-wise.