Sammie Coates expected to 'come back 100 percent'

AUBURN -- Tigers wide receiver Sammie Coates is expected to make a full recovery from a left leg injury that caused him to miss last week's game with San Jose State.

"Sammie is doing well," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said during his appearance on the Tiger Talk radio program on Monday. "He was a little banged up. We chose to hold him out and it's good that we have another off week too (before playing Kansas State on Sept. 18). We feel like he'll come back 100 percent."

Malzahn did not give a timetable for Coates' return, though the injury was described as minor during the telecast of Saturday's game.

Coates, who was on the sideline in a jersey and warm-up pants, was not available for interviews after Auburn's 59-13 win over SJSU. He had one catch for 13 yards against Arkansas in the season opener.

The 6-foot-2 201 pound junior was the best returner deep threat in the country, with 17 catches of more than 20 yards last season. Coates had 42 catches for 902 yards and seven touchdowns in 2013.

"He is definitely a guy that can stretch the field, but this year we have a lot more options," Malzahn said. "Last year it'd have been a different story but Melvin Ray stepped up, Tony Stevens got a chance, Ricardo (Louis), we threw him a deep ball. We got him a lot more options, but obviously Sammie, he's one of the better playmakers in our league and we need him back healthy."