Auburn earned another win under interim head coach DJ Durkin. As they continue their bounce-back tour post-Hugh Freeze, they sealed a 62-17 victory over Mercer. The dominant performance dipped for a moment when Captain Keldric Faulk went down in a scary on-air scene. When it came time for answers, Durkin smoothly sidestepped the topic at the presser.

“Auburn interim HC DJ Durkin says he doesn’t have any injury updates right now.” Auburn beat writer Jacob Waters wrote on November 22. “DE Keldric Faulk exited the game in the first half, and RB Jeremiah Cobb appeared to get a bit banged up throughout the game.” 

As per the clips, Faulk checked out early, tapping out on Mercer’s second drive with eight minutes, 32 seconds left in the first. He jogged off on his own, but the way he clutched his left side had Auburn fans holding their breath. After a pit stop in the medical tent and a sideline chat with the trainers, Faulk stayed put.

Auburn kept Faulk on the sideline instead of sending him to the locker room. To make it worse, Mercer punched in a TD on the same drive he checked out. Faulk showed back up at halftime in uniform. But it was not a moment of respite for the Auburn tribe. He was rolling with the guys who weren’t dressed for duty, hinting his day was wrapped. 

Through 10 games, Auburn’s captain has posted 26 tackles, added 2 sacks, broken up three passes, and leads the squad with six hurries on opposing quarterbacks. But it isn’t just the stats or on-field performance that Auburn is worried about. When Freeze left, Faulk had been the leader who kept the Tigers together, working as one unit. 

“Total responsibility. Like, I take total responsibility for anything and everything that happens. Me, [Champ Anthony], [Jeremiah Cobb], [Connor Lew], [Keyron Crawford] — we all look at this as our team,” Faulk said during the practice on November 4. It took Faulk less than three seasons to go from 2A Highland Home, tucked just south of Montgomery, to looking like he was built for the SEC spotlight. 

Faulk has become a program pillar, and now, he has spread his influence off the field, too, with a heartfelt gesture. 

Keldric Faulk’s million-dollar move off the field

Back in July this year, Faulk’s NIL valuation, as per On3 reports, was $1 million. However, the defensive lineman decided he didn’t need it all for himself. The timeline coincided with Judge Claudia Wilken signing off on the House v. NCAA settlement. The June 7th decision flipped the script on walk-on dreams everywhere. The deal swapped the old 85-scholarship cutoff for a hard 105-man roster cap, basically shutting the door on future walk-on stories.

That’s when Faulk rose into action. He donated a portion of his NIL money to a walk-on teammate. “Like I tell everybody, is more of when you receive blessings. I feel like it’s in your best interest to give lessons to other people, so we’ve been blessed with NIL, and NIL has helped me and my family tremendously,” he said on the SEC Media Days. 

Auburn was all excited to witness Faulk’s last few games as the defensive star who would have a smooth transition to the NFL. At only 20, Faulk is a 6’6″, 285-pound blueprint for an NFL-ready edge. Against the run, he processes pullers instantly, either darting beneath them to blow up the play or locking down the edge with force-player authority.

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FOX Sports projected Keldric Faulk as the first round and No.9 overall pick landing with the Cincinnati Bengals. Perhaps no team has invested more in edge rushers the past few years than the Bengals. With Trey Hendrickson’s contract up soon, Shemar Stewart sidelined, and Myles Murphy sitting at 5.5 career sacks, the Bengals may have no option but to reload. Faulk, all arms and explosion, fits the puzzle. Let’s hope his injury ends up being as no-big-deal as Durkin’s postgame refusal even to touch the topic.