Two Positions Battles To Watch During Auburn Spring Practice

The Auburn Tigers will see players compete for starting jobs at position on both sides of the ball

Let the battle begin for starting jobs on the Auburn Tigers / John Reed-Imagn Images

The Auburn Tigers will begin practice next week, and some positions don’t have clear-cut expectations of who will be starting come Week 1 against the Baylor Bears. The Tigers have lost many players to the transfer portal and graduation, but head coach Hugh Freeze also managed to bring in the No. 7 recruiting class in 2025. The players that they brought in in the transfer portal are promising as well. That’s where there might be some confusion as to who might be starting next season.

Running Back

For the first time in two years, the Tigers don’t have a clear idea of who is starting at the running back position. For the past two years, it has been held by one of the team’s mainstays Jarquez Hunter. Hunter will be graduating and heading to the 2025 NFL Draft. He was easily the Tigers’ best player offensively, carrying the ball 187 times for 1,201 yards and scoring eight touchdowns in his final season as a Tiger. 

The Tigers will enter spring practice with several different options for a running back. Damari Alston was the backup to Hunter a season ago. He carried the ball just 52 times for 276 yards and three touchdowns. While he is likely to get a good chunk of carries, there are several backs that the Tigers could employ. The third back is Jeremiah Cobb. He has just 29 carries for 142 yards in 2024. 

There are two other options that the Tigers didn’t have in 2024. The first is Durrell Robinson, a transfer from UConn. He had a decent season as a freshman, running for 731 and eight touchdowns. While it may have been at Connecticut, there is promise and he could be one of the biggest challengers for the starting role. The other challenger is Alvin Henderson, a signee in the 2025 recruiting class.  While the running back would be a dark horse to win the spot, he set all types of records in Alabama high school football. Redshirting or keeping this talent on the bench for very long would just be wrong.

Defensive Line

The Tigers’ defensive line is a work in practice. Looking at the players that Coach Freeze has brought in and is recruiting in future classes, defensive ends are a must-get. It makes sense based on stats when looking at 2024. Only defensive lineman Keldric Faulk had upwards of 40 tackles. He also was second in sacks with seven. Linebacker Jalen McLeod had eight. With the 15 sacks, the two players had more than the rest of the team. However, the rest of the linemen struggled in 2024. The next highest total in tackles for defensive linemen was Philip Blidi with 21 tackles. The issue is he was a senior.

Malik Blocton returns for his sophomore season and could see an increase in action. The Tigers will have some freshmen likely competing for a starting spot. Five-stars Jared Smith and Malik Autry are both explosive linemen who could see time early in their careers. With the additions of defensive tackles like Jourdin Crawford who was also in the 2025 recruiting class, the Tigers' defense could look very different next season. 

We will have a better idea once the practices start in a week and Freeze begins to have some concept of who he wants where. But, it wouldn't be surprising if some freshmen come in and beat out players that people were expecting to start next season.

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