The most important shoulder in Southeastern Conference football this week belongs to Auburn junior running back Kerryon Johnson.
Johnson rushed for 104 yards on 30 grueling carries Saturday in the 26-14 win over Alabama, but he fell to the Jordan-Hare Stadium turf with 6:21 remaining and did not play the rest of the game. The 6-foot, 212-pounder from Huntsville is hoping to play a second time against Georgia in the SEC title game after punishing the Bulldogs for 167 yards on 32 carries in the 40-17 win on Nov. 11.
"I'm working this week to get as healthy as I can be," Johnson said Monday. "We've been working for this game for a long time, so I'm doing everything I can to get back out there on the field. This is football, and it's week whatever it is.
"Obviously it's sore, but I'm sore after every game."
Johnson said he hurt his shoulder late in the third quarter on the 1-yard touchdown that gave the Tigers a 20-14 lead.
"I made a mistake when I reached out with the wrong arm to get that touchdown," he said. "I got it hit and banged up, and it didn't feel great on that last run. I figured we kind of had the game in control, so there was no need to push it. It's just a little banged up."
Johnson has rushed for 1,276 yards this season and has a chance to receive a Heisman Trophy invitation. With fellow junior Kamryn Pettway sidelined with a fractured shoulder blade, Johnson has been a workhorse down the stretch, totaling 91 carries in Auburn's last three SEC games against Texas A&M, Georgia and Alabama.
His 32 carries against the Bulldogs were a season high.
"Our O-line played one of their best games, and when they do their job, my job becomes a lot easier," he said. "I get all the flash and pictures, but those guys do an excellent job. If we could keep that up again, it would be a fun day on the ground."
Johnson is confident he will play, and offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey believes Johnson will do everything he can to get ready. If he is unable to go, sophomore Kam Martin would be Auburn's top tailback.
Lindsey believes the 5-10, 182-pound Martin could be a 25-carry guy if needed.
"I think he's capable," Lindsey said Sunday night in a news conference. "Obviously we would play two or three guys, and I feel good about all of them, to be honest with you. We will just see how the game plan goes."
Steele's 'tall order'
Georgia will enter Saturday's SEC championship game ranked ninth nationally in rushing offense with an average of 265.7 yards per game.
The Bulldogs already have one 1,000-yard rusher in senior Nick Chubb, who has compiled 1,098 yards in 12 games, and they could have another in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Fellow senior Sony Michel will face Auburn with 903 yards this season.
Yet Chubb and Michel were silent during Georgia's loss at Auburn, combining on 20 carries for 48 yards. The Bulldogs finished with 46 as a team.
"They've got a good football team, and I don't expect them to change a lot, because they have a stable of really, really talented backs," Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said Sunday in a news conference. "They've run the ball effectively all year long. It was just one of those games that unfolded that way, and you could play that game 12 games in a row and I don't know that you would see 46 yards rushing.
"I would like to think so, and I would jump up and down, but that's a tall order."
Georgia's 46 rushing yards were its fewest against Auburn in at least 50 years.
"We've got to stay poised and do what we do," Michel told reporters Monday. "We know what to expect."
Having the lead
Since losing a 20-0 lead in the second quarter during its eventual 27-23 loss at LSU on Oct. 14, Auburn has not been plagued with similar issues. The Tigers had a 7-0 lead against Alabama give way to a 14-10 deficit early in the third quarter, but they closed out the Crimson Tide with a 16-0 run.
Auburn has held the lead at some point in 34 consecutive games and is 23-11 in those contests. The Tigers also led Clemson 6-0 on Sept. 9 before falling 14-6.
Odds and ends
Georgia coach Kirby Smart expects fullback Christian Payne, who left the Georgia Tech game with an undisclosed injury, to be fine this week. ... Bulldogs left tackle Isaiah Wynn on Monday accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl. ... Steele is among the five finalists for the Broyles Award, joining Clemson co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliot, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Bill Bedenbaugh, UCF offensive coordinator Troy Walters and Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.