Auburn's Jarquez Hunter ranked one of college football's top 10 running backs in 2023
The Auburn Tigers just watched one of the top 10 running backs in college football walk out the door.
Tank Bigsby, Auburn's star tailback for the past three seasons and seventh all-time on the school's total rushing yards list, has declared for the NFL Draft and will be moving on from the Tigers.
It's a blow to a backfield that could have used one more year of Bigsby, especially with a new offensive line and a competent playcalling duo of Hugh Freeze and Philip Montgomery.
However, according to On3, even without Bigsby, the Tigers have one of the top five running backs in America.
Jarquez Hunter, the backup to Bigsby for the past two seasons, ranked No. 5 in On3's article detailing the Top 10 Running Backs in College Football in 2023.
Here's what On3 had to say about Hunter:
"Hunter doesn’t have the production of some of the other players on this list, but you have to keep in mind that Auburn was a team essentially going through a coaching change during the season. Hunter is plenty versatile and ran for 668 yards and seven touchdowns, as well as catching 17 passes for 224 yards and two scores. He’ll be a terrific weapon in the hands of Hugh Freeze."
He ranks ahead of Miyan Williams (Ohio State), TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio State), Donovan Edwards (Michigan), Trey Benson (Florida State), and Braelon Allen (Wisconsin)
Jarquez Hunter was a three-star prospect in the Tigers' 2021 recruiting class. He was an extremely late pickup and a relatively irrelevant one at that - sitting just outside the top 700 players nationally in the 247Sports composite, Hunter was an additional depth piece (at least, according to national outlets) but wasn't expected to do much on the Plains for a couple of seasons.
Behind the aforementioned Bigsby, Hunter rushed for 593 yards and three touchdowns, averaging an impressive 6.7 yards per carry. He followed this performance up with an even better one in 2022 (as noted by On3).
He'll lead the way in a deep running back room featuring a wide variety of skill.
Here's a look at Auburn's entire rotation heading into 2023:
Jarquez Hunter, Jr.
Hunter took a dip in YPC as his freshman season progressed, but he broke out this past season with three hundred-yard performances over the final three games of the year - including two huge games against Texas A&M and Alabama.
His blend of power and explosiveness has provided Auburn with a fun compliment to star tailback Tank Bigsby - but now that Bigsby is gone, is Hunter ready to carry the load in the backfield?
All signs point towards yes, and there's reason to believe that OC Philip Montgomery and HC Hugh Freeze will be excited about using him. Hunter has also proven to be the best pass-catcher out of the backfield over the past couple of seasons.
Although, there may be someone on the depth chart that could potentially take those passing snaps away from Hunter.
Fans should be excited about Hunter's return and should expect him to continue to improve upon the standard that he has set as an explosive, shifty back that's hard to bring down.
Career carries - 193
Career rushing yards - 1,261
Career total touchdowns - 13
Career YPC - 6.5
Best game of career: Vs Alabama State (9/27/21) - 8 carries, 147 yards, 1 touchdown OR at Alabama (11/26/22) - 11 carries, 134 yards
Brian Battie, Jr.
Over his three year career at USF, Battie rushed for 1842 yards and ten TDs. Battie was also named an 2021 NCAA Consensus All-American at Kick Returner, just the 2nd All-American in USF program history, and followed that with a 2022 season that saw him rack up 1186 yards (at 6.7 yards per carry), eight touchdowns, and be named to Phil Steele's All-American team in an all-purpose role.
A former 3-star recruit from Sarasota, FL, the 5-foot-8 Battie joins a running back room full of talent but short on starting experience - with Tank Bigsby off to the NFL, the returning duo of Jarquez Hunter and Damari Alston have only a combined 207 carries in college football, with 193 of those belonging to Hunter in his role as Bigsby's backup the last two seasons.
Career carries - 280
Career rushing yards - 1,842
Career total touchdowns - 28
Career YPC - 6.6
Best game of career: At Florida ((9/17/22) - 17 carries, 150 yards, 8.8 YPC, 1 touchdowns OR at Tulsa (11/18/22) - 19 carries, 169 yards, 1 touchdown
There were several to choose from.
Damari Alston, So.
Alston was the newbie in the rotation this season, and by default didn't see a lot of playing time - despite this, he finished inside the top 10 of PFF's individual offensive grades for the Tigers in 2022.
He has an almost identical frame to Hunter (5-foot-10, 205 pounds) but has a very different running style - his one-cut bruiser style approach to the game makes him a difficult matchup for opponents as a rotational back - there is no fun in trying to hold Jarques Hunter down and then immediately having to account for a back that does not shy away from contact. He had almost 2,000 all-purpose yards as a junior in high school and has the potential to be a solid option in years to come for Auburn.
Career carries - 14
Career yards - 85
Career touchdowns - 0
Career YPC - 6.1
Best game of career: Vs San Jose State (9/10/22) - 2 carries, 38 yards
Jeremiah Cobb, Fr.
This may be the most intriguing pickup of Auburn's 2023 recruiting class. Cobb was a monster at Montgomery Catholic High School, posting insane stats and displaying a well-rounded skill set. 247Sports noted in their analysis that "not one physical trait that stands out among the rest but (Cobb) possesses a well-rounded skill set and has a good feel for the position."
And a good feel he has. There have been several comps thrown out for Cobb, and one many recruiting experts come back to is Alvin Kamara, given his ability to catch passes out of the backfield and turn anything into a big gain. There's not a particular area of weakness in his game (outside of the fact that he's still raw, as any high school talent), which is great news for the Tigers, who would expect him to take over the starting role as early as 2024 if Jarquez Hunter were to declare for the NFL Draft.
Cobb has some serious potential to become a great weapon in Hugh Freeze's offense.
*Career carries - 639
*Career yards - 6,567
*Career rushing touchdowns - 75
*Career YPC - 10.3
Career receiving yards - 1,142
*Career receiving touchdowns - 15
*Career YPC (receiving) - 22.8 (!)
*All of these career numbers are his high school stats over the course of 50 games.
Sean Jackson, Rs So.
Jackson earned his scholarship as a redshirt freshman last season. He did not record a stat for the Tigers in 2022, but received 12 carries for 60 yards and one touchdown over the course of Auburn's first two games of 2021 (Akron, Alabama State).
He'll be on roster to provide depth in what should be a very talented and well-balanced running back room in 2023. Whether or not Freeze and Montgomery end up giving him any serious playing time is to be determined over the course of the offseason, but Jackson has been praised for his work ethic - hence his reception of a scholarship.
His bruising frame (5-foot-9, 230 pounds) could be utilized in short-yardage situations, if Freeze were to end up using him.
Career carries - 12
Career yards - 60
Career touchdowns - 1
Career YPC - 5.0
Best game of career: Vs Alabama State (9/27/21) - 10 carries, 38 yards, 1 touchdown
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