‘Crushed’ Lutzenkirchen to have surgery

Auburn coach Gene Chizik said tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen, who is out for the season with a hip injury, will have surgery this week and the recovery time is typically four to five months.

“In our team meeting Sunday I said to the team, ‘this is a guy that he’s crushed right now,’” Chizik said. “He’s put so much into Auburn and came back (for his senior season). He’s really tried to play all year with kind of a painful injury that he was pushing through and he was pushing through and he was pushing through. He just couldn’t do it any more.

“He’s always going to go down here in the record books as a guy that’s an Auburn man and been very productive.”

Lutzenkirchen had 59 receptions for 628 yards and 14 touchdowns – a school-record for a tight end – in his Auburn career.

Chizik said he thinks Lutzenkirchen can make it in the NFL.