T.J. Neal’s tweets won’t have effect on playing time for Auburn linebacker

AUBURN, Ala. (TNS) — Auburn linebacker T.J. Neal’s tweets about his lack of playing time, which he later deleted and apologized for, have been addressed.

“We’re always in a process of teaching guys on and off the field about how we handle things,” Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said. “I guess the way to say it is, that has no effect on playing time one way or the other, whether it’s on social media or it’s not.”

Neal, who was listed as a co-starter at weak-side linebacker, did not record a statistic in Auburn’s 19-13 loss to Clemson.

Following the game, Neal posted six tweets about his lack of playing time. He apologized in a second series of tweets later on Sunday.

“You know, everybody’s human,” linebacker Tre’ Williams said. “Everybody makes mistakes. He apologized for it and we left it at that.”

A 6-foot, 235-pound graduate transfer, Neal had 109 tackles including 15 tackles for loss and two sacks for Illinois last season.

Auburn’s defense still managed to be effective against Clemson without Neal taking part defensively.

Clemson had 151 yards rushing at 3.43 yards per carry, well below its average of 223 rushing yards per game and 4.93 yards per carry last season.

“It just unfolded that way,” Steele said. “I mean as a coach it’s not ‘I’m going to play you eight plays, I’m going to play you 10 plays.’ I learned a long, long time ago, I told a young guy, ‘hey you’re going to play.’ We got in the course of the game, it was a tight game, I forgot about it, he didn’t play.

“So here it is; we’re going to play the game and we’re going to put people out there who we think need to be out there in the situation and the only way to tell you who that’s going to be is wait until after the game to see.”