Auburn loses safety Erique Florence

The Auburn Tigers have parted ways with safety Erique Florence due to personal issues, head coach Gus Malzhan announced today. Florence has not been with the team all spring and the departure appears to be fairly amiable without any personal mud-slinging. This is the fifth roster change for the Tigers since Malzahn took over at Auburn, with offensive guard Christian Westerman, quarterback Clint Moseley, running back Mike Blakely and defensive tackle Devaunte Sigler all having departed or been dismissed.

Florence struggled with personal problems all of 2012, missing two contests against Louisiana-Monroe and Alabama A&M. He was widely considered a top-five safety prospect in the 2011 recruiting class. He was recruited by big-time schools like Alabama and USC before ending up picking Auburn.

Florence played very well in his first year with the program, racking up 23 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. But he regressed in his sophomore campaign, falling back into defensive sub-packages and only managing eight tackles.

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