Moral victories don’t exist during a four-game losing streak. Watching the Tigers get blasted 41-17 at Jordan-Hare wasn’t fun for Auburn fans; however, if an Auburn man or woman was looking for a morsel of hope that the Tigers would bounce back, they could lean into the steady improvement by freshman wide receiver Camden Brown this season.
Brown’s 24-yard catch with eight seconds left in the second quarter led to an Anders Carlson 24-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. Auburn entered the locker room at halftime down 17-13, partly because of Brown’s catch on a nice throw from Robby Ashford.
Most Auburn fans were in the parking lot or driving down Wire Road before Brown’s touchdown catch on a nine-yard pass with 5:28 left in the fourth quarter. Brown’s first career touchdown was too little too late for an Auburn win since the Tigers were down 18 points. However, the effort was recognized by his teammates.
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“I wanted to shout out Camden Brown,” Harsin said. “I remember watching him. He kept fighting, and I appreciate that. He kept fighting, and I wanted to give him his flowers. He continued to fight. He earned my respect. I liked that.”
Ashford threw for 285 yards on 24-33 passing. Brown had four catches from Ashford for 83 yards and the touchdown, which Ashford hopes is the first of many for Brown.
“Yeah, he’s a baller. He’s a baller,” Ashford said. “Since the time he got on campus, he’s worked his butt off. And it’s good to see that pay off for him because he’s such a hard worker and just dedicated, and I mean, you love playing with guys like that, love playing with guys that are gonna give their all every day putting in extra time. So I’m proud of him for just what he was able to do today. Even if it was when we were down, he was still able to make plays and just be him. I mean, he’s a baller; like I said, he’s gonna be really good.”
On a week that saw two wide receivers declare their intentions to enter the transfer portal and another loss that takes the Tigers two games below .500 seeing Brown establish himself as a sound wide receiver gives a little hope on an otherwise cloudy day.
“I thought he stepped up. He’s a guy who cares,” head coach Bryan Harsin said. “He’s a young guy who’s learning, and he wants to win. He works hard, and it shows up in the game. I’m proud of him for being a young player who impacted the game.”
