AUBURN AUTHORITY

D'haquille Williams is 'probably unlikely' to play at Georgia

James Crepea
Montgomery Advertiser
Auburn wide receiver D'haquille Williams suffered an injury to his right knee during Saturday's loss to Texas A&M.

AUBURN -- D'haquille Williams is likely going to be out for Auburn's meeting with rival Georgia Saturday night due to a right knee injury he suffered against Texas A&M.

"I'm not ready to say (he's out)," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said, "but it's probably unlikely (for him to play),"

Malzahn reiterated that Williams is "week-to-week" after suffering a reported sprained MCL when he went down with 13:29 to go in the second quarter of Auburn's loss to Texas A&M.

"We'll see how he progresses," Malzahn said.

Williams, who went to the locker room on crutches before halftime and returned to the sideline for the second half last week, leads Auburn with 38 receptions for 609 yards and five touchdowns. He has been unavailable for interviews.

Quan Bray, who is second on the team in receptions (25) and touchdown catches (three), tied a career-high with six catches for 65 yards and a touchdown against the Aggies. He and the rest of Auburn's receiving corps will need to help make up for the loss of Williams.

"That's a big loss for us, it's key," Bray said. "As players, we had to step up and we stepped up."

Melvin Ray and C.J. Uzomah each filled in for Williams after he was injured and are the most likely candidates to do so against the Bulldogs.

"I thought they performed fairly well," Malzahn said, "especially given the circumstances of not getting a lot of practice reps during the week."

Like the 6-foot-2 Williams, both the 6-foot-3 Ray and 6-foot-5 Uzomah are bigger targets and are better equipped to take the punishment involved in running across the middle.

"It definitely requires a bigger body," Bray said. "Those guys do their thing in practice every day, and when they have an opportunity in the game, they make plays. We have a lot of confidence in both of those guys."