Duke Williams' absence not a distraction for his teammates

The Auburn Tigers No. 1 receiver and Preseason All-American Duke Williams missed practice for the third day in a row Monday due to an undisclosed "discipline issue." With no imminent sign of his return to the team, how big of a distraction is his status been to the team? 

"This hasn't been a distraction at all, not even a little bit," starting quarterback Jeremy Johnson said to AL.com. "We feel really good about the other receivers we've got. We got four tremendous guys that are going to help us. But this hasn't been a distraction and we won't let it be a distraction."

And it isn't just the team's quarterback, it's his fellow receivers that feel the same way and are treating Williams' absence like an injury.  

"We don't skip a beat," Ricardo Louis said. "Whoever is not in, we're going to have somebody else step up."

Louis then went on and appeared to indicate he agrees with the disciple being handed out to the team's best outside threat. 

"We have a goal and whatever is holding us back from that goal, we're going to get rid of it," Louis said. "I'm not saying that was the problem or a distraction, but we have a goal and we're going to accomplish that. We're going to do whatever it takes but we're not going to let distractions hold us back." 

(h/t AL.com)