Hugh Freeze OK with RBs flying under the radar

Five players in the SEC reached at least 1,000 rushing yards in 2023.

Four of the five — Jayden Daniels (LSU), Ray Davis (Kentucky), Cody Schrader (Missouri) and Jaylen Wright (Tennessee) — have moved on to the NFL. The other is former Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins, who transferred to Ohio State this offseason after two standout seasons with the Rebels.

Only one other player in the conference has reached 900 yards: Auburn football RB Jarquez Hunter, who returns to the Plains as the SEC’s leading rusher for his fourth and final year of eligibility. Hunter was named to the All-SEC first team at media days earlier this month, and yet it feels like he’s not being talked about enough heading into 2024.

Coach Hugh Freeze is fine with that.

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“I’m a little shocked that nobody’s talking about him, and I’m fine with that and I’m sure he’s not looking for that anyway,” Freeze said Thursday in Dallas. “He just wants to know where he can go fishing after practice. … I think he’s had a great offseason.”

Hunter has averaged 6.2 yards per carry on his 352 career rushing attempts. Among players with at least 200 career carries, Hunter’s average ranks fifth in Auburn history, trailing Brent Fullwood (7.2), Bo Jackson (6.6), Tommy Lorino (6.5) and Onterio McCalebb (6.4).

Quite a list.

An impressive part of Hunter’s game last season was his ability to generate yards after contact, averaging 4.06 yards after a defender first touched him on a given play. That ranked sixth among SEC running backs with 100 or more rushing attempts, according to Pro Football Focus.

Seven SEC players ran the ball more than 150 times last season. No one had a better yards-after-contact average than Hunter. Davis was next at 3.81, and Florida’s Montrell Johnson Jr. was right behind him at 3.53. None of the other players — Judkins, Schrader, Georgia’s Daijun Edwards and Alabama’s Jase McClellan — ran more than 3.50.

Another notable skill of Hunter’s was his knack for breakaway runs, which are defined as designed rushes that go for more than 15 yards. His breakaway run percentage last season was 44.9%, which was good for fourth in the SEC among RBs with 100 or more rushes. He also forced 39 missed tackles, which again was fourth among the same group.

But Hunter won’t be the only one involved at RB for the Tigers. Expect a rotation between himself, junior Damari Alston and sophomore Jeremiah Cobb. Freeze noted Thursday that he may opt to have Hunter and Alston wear non-contact jerseys during preseason workouts because he doesn’t want to risk injury with two veterans who have already put plenty on tape.

The depth at running back is a bit concerning, considering Auburn only has three scholarship players who are ready to play. Brian Battie is also on scholarship, but he is recovering from a serious injury in a May shooting.

Alston, who had 320 rushing yards last season, will need to step into a bigger role complementing Hunter.

“When you mentioned his name, the first word that came to mind was leader,” Freeze said of Alston. “He’s been unanimously elected to the cultural council twice now. He’s got wisdom for a young man. Combine that with the fact that he’s a damn good running back.

“I love our running back room. I’m okay with no one talking about them. I really am. Jarquez, Damari and Cobb are, I think, three really, really good backs.”

Richard Silva is the Auburn Athletics Beat Writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.