Aairon Savage stopped short at calling the injury that kept him off the field for all of 2008 a blessing in disguise.

Nothing can be done to get back Savage’s junior season, which he described simply as a “rough, rough road.”

But nothing can replicate the learning experience the defensive back gained from watching Auburn’s struggles — its worst in nearly 10 years — from the sidelines.

“I found out a lot about myself and a lot about people around you,” Savage said in his first interview since he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the second day of practice last August.

“You’ve just got to keep going and think of every day, no matter how many days you’ve got to come.”

Savage’s days ahead appear much more promising than that fateful day seven months ago, when he crumpled down on the field turf at the Auburn practice facility.

“Just a bad dream, man, to sum it all up — it was just a bad dream,” he said. “We worked so hard the offseason just to be in the position that we were in. For things to happen how they happened, it was hard. It was hard.”

As Savage went through the rehabilitation process, the pain in his knee wasn’t the only contributing factor to a rough six months. Savage said he also dealt with “a lot of personal stuff off the field.”

Savage didn’t care to provide specifics about the past. His focus is on the future.

“It’s good to be back out there with the guys,” Savage said. “Just to look in their eyes and see the uplift in their eyes and me being out there, it feels good.”

Savage, who carried a large knee brace with him to the post-practice interview room Tuesday, will likely wear an orange, non-contact jersey for the remainder of spring practice. When asked if he’d have to wear the brace forever, Savage said “no” six times.

Coach Gene Chizik said Savage could play either at cornerback or safety this season because “he’s smart enough to even play nickel.”

Savage said he worked exclusively with the cornerbacks Tuesday.

“That’s not really an issue,” Savage said. “Everybody’s competing for jobs. Just to be back out there … that’s the most important thing to me right now.”

That competition may be a little more difficult than it was last fall, as Savage’s vacancy was admirably filled — at times — by two true freshmen. Neiko Thorpe and D’Antoine Hood saw plenty of playing time in 2008 with Savage out of the picture and ex-Tiger Jerraud Powers nursing a sore hamstring.

“The guys can play,” Savage said. “We’re feeling really confident — really confident — in the defensive secondary.” 

McKenzie absent from first practice
Tight end Gabe McKenzie was not at practice Tuesday and was seen at the Auburn men’s basketball team’s NIT quarterfinal loss to
Baylor.

Chizik said McKenzie was still a member of the team, but declined to elaborate on the reasoning behind the senior’s absence, citing medical privacy issues.

“We’re just dealing with a couple medical issues right now that we’ll work through,” Chizik said. “He’ll be back out there when his things get worked out.

“When he’s ready to get back out there, you’ll know it.”

McKenzie and sophomore Bailey Woods are the only fully active tight ends listed on Auburn’s spring roster.

Vance Smith, who came to Auburn as a tight end, has been converted to the offensive line because of a lack of bodies in that area.

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