AUBURN — Special teams coordinator Tanner Burns gave the latest update on Auburn football kicker Alex McPherson during Wednesday's news conference.

It was reported over the summer that McPherson was battling with an intestinal injury that caused him to miss preseason practices. The injury led in him losing some weight, resulting in a bit of a scare for everyone around the Auburn facility. Burns said McPherson is now over 140 pounds.

More: Observations from Auburn's Friday practice: Injury updates, WRs standouts, and QB battle

"It was a slow process to get him to where he's at now," Burns said. "But I think he weighs a little over 140 now. So, he's gaining that weight, he's starting to kick. Really kind of amping that up this week. Health-wise and everything, he's back to being himself. There was a point in time — he's always the type of kid that's going to say he's doing great whether he was having a good day or a bad day. But now the personality that we're used to him having has shown up more and more."

Despite not being able to compete in practice, McPherson was in attendance in regular clothes supporting his teammates all throughout camp. Last season, he went a perfect 13-of-13 on field goals, including a long of 51 against Texas A&M. In his career, he has only missed one kick with the Tigers.

With the absence of McPherson, freshman Towns McGough out of Auburn High School, has been getting majority of the starting reps. He turned heads quickly in the Tigers' spring game, hitting 8-of-8 field goals, including a 58-yarder for the victory.

Burns praised McGough, saying he did not miss from 40 yards or closer during fall camp. With him and McPherson on deck for the fall, he believes they have two of the best kickers in the country.

"Those guys are the two most talented I've had in my years of coaching," Burns said. "Their mindset is what you want. But to be able to have Towns here in a situation that none of us could see happening, his attitude and how he's related to those guys and that group, and how he takes coaching is great. He's still just a freshman. No different than a wideout we have, a linebacker, anybody else. A freshman. But he had a good camp."

Last week, Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said McGough was a little inconsistent after the spring game. However, in camp he was able to turn up it up a notch and gain the trust from the entire team that he can get the job done.

"The first week, it was fairly inconsistent, which kind of shocked me a little after the spring game," Freeze said. "But (last week), he's been really solid. We did red zone close out, and he had some critical kicks there to extend it and made every one. And it's not always him, let's be clear. I mean, there's a lot of things that can go wrong with the snap, the hold, the timing of that, and we've had to improve that protection some, and the operation. It's been much better this camp."

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: Kicker Alex McPherson update and freshman Towns McGough shines in camp