Carl Lawson's knee not 'good enough' to talk comeback

AUBURN -- It is increasingly sounding as though Carl Lawson will not be able to make a return this season.

Lawson is not far enough along in his rehabilitation to even discuss a comeback from off-season ACL surgery.

"Rehab's going good," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said during his appearance on Tiger Talk on Monday. "We've not gotten to the point yet it's good enough to talk about coming back. He's got a bright future. I want to make sure that he's 110 percent, for sure, ready to go, when that time comes."

Last week, Malzahn said Lawson's return was "up in the air."

With six games remaining in the regular season No. 5 Auburn (5-1, 2-1 SEC) is still alive for an SEC Championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff despite a void of pass rush on the defensive line.

There is no "cutoff point" yet for Malzahn regarding when to no longer even consider the possibility of a return for Lawson, who would lose a year of eligibility if he played.

"We haven't had that conversation yet," Malzahn said. "He have great doctors and once they say he's 100 percent ready to go then we can have that conversation. Until then, I'm not really going there."

Lawson, who has not been available for interviews since the injury, was in line to start at defensive end after posting 20 tackles with 7 1/2 for loss and four sacks as a true freshman last season.

The Tigers are in dire need of pass rush and defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson is leaving no stone unturned to find a solution. He moved safety Brandon King to defensive end on passing downs to bring speed off the edge.

"We need to figure out a way to put a little more pressure on the quarterback," Malzahn said. "Ellis, that's one of his focal points last week, to try to put more pressure on the quarterback when we're not blitzing."