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After sustaining unknown injuries at a party in Columbus, Georgia with Jovon Robinson before the running back’s dismissal on Wednesday, graduate transfer corner Marshall Taylor is expected to return for Auburn soon despite missing five practices for the Tigers. Gus Malzahn did not seem concerned about Taylor missing out on reps in an interview with AL.com: “You would hope a veteran guy that definitely has experience, has played in different things, you would think he would come back and be not too far behind.”
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Robinson’s dismissal will hurt the Tigers’ backfield (projected starter with 639 yards and three touchdowns in 2015) but needed to happen with his role in Taylor’s injuries in addition to another incident involving a young woman. The running back went down fighting however as he stated that “Everything about (the) Auburn coaching staff is not what it seems” in an interview with AL.com. Attempting to fill the void at starter this season will be true sophomore Kerryon Johnson, who rushed for 208 yards and three scores in addition to 14 catches for 159 yards last season.
Taylor, who is projected to add depth to both corner and nickel per the Montgomery Advertiser, could potentially be an asset for Auburn if he can get on the field. A longer corner at 6’3”, he had three interceptions and 11 passes broken up at Miami (OH) in spite of having to learn a new defensive system under Chuck Martin. The important thing for Taylor at this point is to get on the practice field for the Tigers and get reps at both positions so that he can compete for a spot on the field.