Auburn Tigers DE Carl Lawson out vs LSU with hip injury

The Auburn Tigers traveled to LSU Saturday for an important SEC West battle, but injured defensive end Carl Lawson did not make the trip to Baton Rouge.

An already tough task will be even tougher for the Auburn football team Saturday as the Tigers travelled to Baton Rouge for an SEC West showdown with LSU without star defensive end Carl Lawson. The news was first reported by Brandon Marcello of AL.com.

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Lawson, a junior that sat out the entire 2014 season with a torn ACL, will miss his second consecutive game after suffering a hip injury in the team’s 31-24 season opening victory over Louisville. He had four tackles, one sack and two tackles for a loss against the Cardinals, but watched from the sidelines last week as the Tigers narrowly escaped an upset bid by FCS opponent Jacksonville State.

Without Lawson and defensive back Tray Matthews, who also sat out due to injury, Auburn defeated the Gamecocks 27-20 in overtime to improve to 2-0 ahead of Saturday’s SEC opener. During the game, the Tigers also lost defensive back Josh Holsey with a torn ACL. Holsey will miss the remainder of the season.

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A 6-foot-2, 257-pound Georgia native, Lawson was a pre-season All-SEC selection expected to play the hybrid defensive end/linebacker “Buck” position in new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp’s defense. He earned Freshman All-American second team honors in 2013 and helped the Tigers win the SEC Championship as a reserve defensive end.

Lawson’s absence looms large for Auburn, who have struggled to find a consistent pass rusher without him. Last season, the Tigers managed only 21 sacks, which played a large role in a historically bad season for the Auburn defense. The Tigers have six sacks through two games this season.

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