Carl Lawson LSU.JPG

Auburn defensive lineman Carl Lawson (55) celebrates tackling LSU quarterback Danny Etling (16) during the first half Saturday Sept. 24, 2016, at Jordan Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

(JULIE BENNETT)

Carl Lawson pointed his hands skyward and gestured to the crowd as Marlon Davidson barked in his ear during Saturday night's closing seconds.

Moments earlier, Lawson just spun down LSU quarterback Danny Etling for a 6-yard sack on second-and-10 from the Auburn 14-yard line. He came off the edge at the snap, dipped his shoulder to turn the corner past left tackle K.J. Malone and running back Leonard Fournette before wrapping up Etling from behind.

"It was just instinctive," Lawson said. "It was awesome to get."

Auburn coach Gus Malzahn called it "probably the play of the game" -- a timely sack in a pivotal moment during the game's closing minute while LSU attempted a furious, last-second comeback that fell just short of coming to fruition.

More than being arguably the defensive play of the game -- and one of two key moments defensively against LSU, according to defensive coordinator Kevin Steele -- it was the first time Lawson in nearly 13 months that looked like the Lawson of old.

Lawson finished the game with four total tackles, including two sacks totaling 16 yards, to go along with three quarterback hurries. It was his most productive game in the scorebook since last year's season opener against Louisville, when he had four tackles, a sack and three hurries in just one half of play before exiting with a hip injury that sidelined him for half of the season.

"Those guys take a lot of pride in that and they like to see, they like the finished result where there's stats attached to it," Steele said. "As coaches we just want to see them do their job in that way. So yeah, it's nice to see guys recognized for their efforts."

Auburn's defensive line as a whole was praised by Steele on Sunday night, just less than 24 hours after the unit helped contain Fournette and keep Etling under pressure all night during an 18-13 win. Auburn's defense affected the quarterback 11 times, with seven hurries and four sacks on the game.

Lawson accounted for five of those, including one hurry and the big-time sack in the game's final four plays.

"He's just one of those great players," linebacker Darrell Williams said. "People are talking about how he hasn't had the numbers, hasn't been producing, but big-time players step up in big-time games. So that's really what it was."

Lawson's performance against LSU significantly improved his overall numbers on the year. Through the team's first three games, he totaled just five tackles, a sack and three hurries -- though the impact he makes with his presence while fully healthy at defensive end is evident, even when the stats aren't showing up.

The 6-foot-2, 253-pounder was a Freshman All-American in 2013 despite not starting, but he missed all of 2014 due to ACL surgery. Last year he was expected to be an "unblockable" force along Auburn's defensive line before the hip injury sidelined him for 6 1/2 games and limited him to just one sack and 17 total tackles.

The numbers were hard to come by for Lawson -- at least until Saturday's game against LSU.

"Carl is a very high-energy, high-octane guy," safety Nick Ruffin said. "He's a vocal leader on this defense, so for him to step up in a major, major way for us was, I guess clutch is the best way to describe it. He's that kind of guy that if they throw the ball 20 times, he wants 20 sacks."

Twenty is a number Lawson, in all likelihood, won't reach. Still, his improved production last weekend is a promising sign for an Auburn defense that has turned things around under Steele -- even if Lawson readily acknowledges there's work left to be done.

"I got to step it up and be more physical in the run game," Lawson said. "We still got a lot of things we need to improve on."