Hudson,Johnson with dueling 100-yard games

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Kobe Hudson, Ja'Varrius Johnson scratch surface with dueling 100-yard games

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

5-6 minutes

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Auburn wide receiver Kobe Hudson (5) makes a one-handed catch for a touchdown over Mississippi State cornerback Martin Emerson (1) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)AP

Overshadowed by Auburn’s epic collapse last weekend was the standout performances of a pair of Tigers wide receivers.

Kobe Hudson and Ja’Varrius Johnson both put up career numbers during Auburn’s 43-34 loss to Mississippi State, becoming the first tandem of Tigers to post 100 yards receiving in the same game since Sammie Coates (206 yards) and Duke Williams (121) in the 2014 Iron Bowl. Hudson had eight catches for 107 yards and a touchdown, while Johnson finished with four catches for 102 yards and added a 57-yard rushing score.

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“I think sometimes in games that you win, you cover up some things that were not good and mistakes that were made,” Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said. “Then, in games you lose, I think there’s players that play really hard and really well and do things that you ask them to do. We asked our wide receivers to be playmakers and make big plays when they had opportunities to do that…. There’s guys that, even in losses, take what they’re asked to do to heart and go out there and execute it.”

Both Hudson and Johnson answered that call against Mississippi State. The two accounted for eight of Auburn’s 12 plays that yielded at least 15 yards.

That included Johnson’s 57-yard touchdown, his 44-yard reception on the third-quarter play on which quarterback Bo Nix fractured his right ankle, as well as a 24-yarder in the fourth quarter that was originally called a touchdown but then ruled short upon review. Hudson had a 31-yard reception, as well as a 23-yarder. His most impressive play, though, came in the second quarter when he made a falling, one-handed, over-the-shoulder catch in the back corner of the end zone on a fade from Nix that put Auburn ahead 28-3.

“He really put on a show, made consistent plays, and that was really impressive,” Nix said Wednesday during an appearance on The Next Round. “He made some tough catches, made some wild catches, too.”

Hudson’s performance earned himself a newfound (and somewhat unlikely) fan by the end of the game: Mississippi State coach Mike Leach.

“Auburn got some explosive plays, and one guy I’d like to meet was No. 5 (Hudson),” Leach said after the game. “That guy just tore it up.”

Hudson now leads Auburn with 37 receptions for 490 yards and a pair of touchdowns this season, while Johnson — who had his most impactful performance since the season opener against Akron — has 11 catches for 220 yards and three total touchdowns this season.

Last weekend’s performances against Mississippi State felt like a potential turning point for the two young receivers, and certainly something they — and an oft-beleaguered receiving corps that has endured issues with dropped passes and an early-season coaching change — could build on late in the season.

“Just moving forward, that’s going to help their confidence, and going into next season they’ll have a lot to continue to build on,” Nix said. “It’ll be exciting to watch them finish out this year.”

Nix may have to wait on watching Hudson, who was injured on a third-quarter hit that was ruled targeting on the field but overturned after review and is questionable for Saturday’s game at South Carolina. Hudson indicated on Instagram on Tuesday that he did not practice, and the only update Harsin gave about the sophomore’s status Wednesday was that his injury was “not season-ending.”

Still, with Auburn turning to LSU transfer T.J. Finley as its starting quarterback for the remainder of the season, last weekend’s showing from the Tigers’ receivers is providing a certain level of comfort for Finley heading into his first start for the program.

“Those guys are special,” Finley said. “Our whole receiver room is special, and I don’t think you guys have been able to see that yet as a group. Those two guys stood out last game and that’s just a tad bit of what they can do. Those guys are only going to get better from here. They’ve been working their butts off…. It does give me a lot of confidence knowing they are able to get the job done and they’re able to do what we’ve been coaching them to do all week and translate that over to the game.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.