| | AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn quarterback Ben Leard will miss at
least four weeks with a separated shoulder and could require
season-ending shoulder surgery.
Leard said Monday that Auburn's trainers will wait until the
swelling goes down before deciding whether or not he needs surgery.
He separated his shoulder during Saturday's 24-17 loss to
Mississippi.
"It's just another hurdle I have to overcome," Leard said.
Leard, ranked second in the nation with a passing efficiency
rating of 175.5 percent, had resurrected his career this season
under new coach Tommy Tuberville. He was the starter last year for
Auburn, but lost his job to Gabe Gross midway through the season.
Gross beat him out in the preseason to start this year, but
Leard replaced him in the third quarter of the season opener and
never looked back. He is 56-of-78 for 729 yards with six touchdowns
and no interceptions.
Leard said he wasn't sure how seriously he was injured after the
hit.
"I thought it was a real bad bruise, but I tried to take my
mouthpiece out and couldn't pick my arm up to take my mouthpiece
out," he said. "I knew something was wrong so I called a timeout
and couldn't pick my arm up then, either."
Leard said as the trainers tried to examine him on the sidelines
he could "feel a popping" underneath his shoulder pads.
"That's when they told me what they thought it was, a
separation," he said.
Auburn's doctors have decided to treat the injury
conservatively, hoping Leard will be able to come back in early
November.
Jeff Klein will start Saturday at No. 7 Tennessee. He will be
Auburn's third starting quarterback this season.
Gross last week quit the team to concentrate on playing baseball
and Tuberville said Monday that had not changed.
Moving up the depth chart as Klein's backups are walk-on Jacob
Allen, who has been Auburn's holder, and freshman Allen Tillman.
Tillman said he would rather be redshirted.
"Jacob knows 50 percent of the offense, and Jacob knows 50
percent more than Allen knows," offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone
said.
Klein replaced Leard against Ole Miss and was 10-of-16 for 112
yards and a touchdown.
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