Winners and losers from Auburn football's spring game

Auburn played to a tie in Hugh Freeze's first spring game on the Plains.

The Tigers offense and defense matched 24-all in the rainy A-Day, with both sides of the ball making solid plays and showing promise for the upcoming season.

However, even in the setting, there were still some spikes of highs and lows that should be noted heading into the summer.

Here are some winners and losers from the scrimmage.

Loser: The 1k club

After boasting one of the longest streaks of annual 1k backs in the country, Jarquez Hunter has a shot to become the Auburn's second thousand-yard rusher in the last six seasons.

After seeing the way the Tigers utilized the rotation on Saturday, that may be less likely.

This is what Auburn's rushing totals from running backs looked like on A-Day:

Running Backs	Att.	Net Yds	TD	Avg.
Sean Jackson	13	77	0	5.9
Justin Jones	11	50	1	4.5
Damari Alston	5	43	0	8.6
Brian Battie	7	32	0	4.6
Jarquez Hunter	4	27	0	6.8

A couple of things here.

The top running back from A-Day was former walk-on Sean Jackson. This tracks with previous spring games. The second-leading rusher was walk-on Justin Jones. The best YPC average and longest run came from sophomore Damari Alston. USF transfer Brian Battie even got in on the action. Hunter, Auburn's projected lead back in 2023, finished last in yards among RBs... but only had four carries.

The room has some serious depth. Oh, and four-star Jeremiah Cobb will be arriving in the fall on top of what the Tigers currently have.

Freeze said before A-Day that he would try and not show much of what he and his staff believe the Tigers to be good at this upcoming season.

With that in mind, there may not be much to say about Jackson and Jones getting the majority of the carries Saturday. Hunter should still be RB1 with Battie, Alston and Cobb getting some love as well.

Even still, it's difficult to imagine Hunter (or another back) getting to one thousand yards this season.

Winner: The offensive line

Auburn ran the ball with a bit more ease than perhaps anticipated during the scrimmage. Is that a reflection on the defense which is expected to become better at stopping the ground game, or maybe a sign of an improved offensive line?

According to Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze, it's the o-line that caught his attention.

"I'm cautiously optimistic that we're gonna have a decent offensive line," Freeze said following Auburn's spring game.

The Tigers ran the ball 51 times for 280 total yards, a solid 5.5 yards per carry. Keep in mind the weather conditions were less than kind; even through the wind and chaos, with a defense likely expecting the run to be more prominent, Auburn's o-line held strong.

“I think it’s good because of course you’re going to have games where it’s going to rain a lot and we’ve got to play through that and not let that affect us," center Avery Jones said. "At the end of the day, we’re still trying to get the win, so I think today was a good way to practice that.”

“All the running backs had a pretty good run and at least one explosive run today. Anybody can go in there and contribute," RB Jarquez Hunter said. "I think Coach (Cadillac) Williams can put anybody in and we can do the job and get the job done. It was great to see everybody just go out there and compete.”

Loser: Opposing SEC passing offenses

Auburn defensive coordinator Ron Roberts hasn't had a history of having elite pass defenses when it comes to total yardage - none of them ever eclipsed 229.1 yards (2017) in a single season - but what his units have been very good at is creating turnovers.

With the Tigers blend of strong outside corner play, experience, and young talent, there's a case to be made that this is a top five, top three unit in the SEC this season. Auburn only threw 12 passes on A-Day but they held strong - it's not a great reflection of what 2023 holds, but its a small taste of this defensive back room's potential.

Winner: Newcomers

As expected, the Tigers had a variety of transfer pickups make significant contributions during the scrimmage - it was the freshmen getting serious playing time that was the surprise. Connor Lew looked solid with the o-line, a variety of new players across the d-line made plays, including Stephen Johnson and Keldric Faulk.

One of the more exciting pickups from the 2023 class was Kayin Lee, who could have potentially earned A-Day MVP. Fellow corner DJ James took the award.

Transfer offensive linemen Dillon Wade, Avery Jones and Gunner Britton all looked solid.

Loser: TJ Finley

TJ Finley didn't turn the ball over or do anything horrendous during his time with the second-team offense.

It's not hard to assume that his stat line of one completion on four attempts for four yards and a sack didn't do much to help his current case for the job, at the very least, in the public eye. He did however rush for 18 yards on three attempts, including a 16-yard scamper that helped the Tigers pick up a first down.

He's been ripping it during the practice windows the media has, with last week being arguably his best moment during the window.

It isn't about the lack of negatives with Finley, but rather the lack of stand-out positives. Hugh Freeze has been quick to continue to note that the Tigers are open to taking a quarterback in the transfer portal when it opens on April 15th.

"The transfer portal opens soon, and we're open to any position that will help our team - as long as they fit our culture - and that includes our quarterback room," Freeze said.

Holden Geriner helped lead a game-tying drive to end the scrimmage. Robby Ashford had a rushing touchdown and the longest play of the day (39-yard pass to Tar'Varish Dawson). Where does Finley find himself in the pecking order if Auburn does end up bringing in a transfer portal quarterback? Especially one that would be projected to at the very least compete strongly for the starting job?

Related A-Day Stories

Can the Auburn quarterback question be solved on A-Day?

Hugh Freeze looking to add transfer quarterback during spring portal window

Auburn football's projected 2023 depth chart

Holden Geriner "taking big strides" in practice since Auburn's Pro Day

Tigers may be looking at different opponent for future spring games

Auburn's A-Day listed as one of most important spring games to watch

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