Gus Malzahn is all about his experience, especially when it comes to the pieces of his puzzle on the offensive side of the ball.

And a massive portion of his returning experience in the offensive backfield walked out the door earlier this week.

Tigers two-year leading rusher JaTarvious Whitlow entered the transfer portal Wednesday, taking with him 33% of Auburn's rushing output from the past two seasons and 16 of its 56 touchdowns on the ground.

Malzahn and Auburn hope that production can be made up for, however, through the recruiting trail, where the Tigers' staff has accumulated a pair of blue-chip tailbacks over the past two seasons.

It's anyone's job for the taking, Malzahn said, regardless of age.

"There’s open competition at every position," Malzahn said Wednesday. "... We’re going to put the best out there."

Sophomores D.J. Williams and Harold Joiner, junior Shaun Shivers and senior Malik Miller — a group that combined has 1,474 career rushing yards after Whitlow departed with 1,550 over two seasos — are all set to return next season. But it's the newcomers, if not only for their novelty, that will be watched most closely come spring practice.

Redshirt freshman Mark-Antony Richards, who sat out all last season due to a leg injury but is expected to be "100%" in spring ball, is joined by early enrollee and one-time No. 1 running back in the 2020 class, Cartavious "Tank" Bigsby.

Bigsby is the flashy, home-run signee of the 2020 class that is expected to contend for carries immediately, but it shouldn't be forgotten that Richards was also a top-5 tailback in his respective class.

Bigsby is advertised as a wildly explosive, "one-play drive type of guy," while Richards has been compared, in terms of patience and having natural, smooth cuts with the ball, to former Auburn running back and now-NFL starter Kerryon Johnson.

But will they be entrusted as much with touting the rock as the veterans?

Malzahn hasn't started a true freshman at tailback since becoming Auburn's head coach. But when looking back at the track record of true freshmen when Malzahn was Auburn's offensive coordinator (Michael Dyer broke Bo Jackson's freshman rushing record in 2010), as well as redshirt freshmen such as Johnson and Whitlow during those seasons for them, it's clear that Bigsby and Richards have the same opportunity to succeed as the returning players.

"The thing about it is we’ve had really good success with freshman running backs in the past," Malzahn said. "... Michael Dyer was MVP of the national championship game in 2010. Whoever wins the job."

Another wrinkle in the race for playing time may be a given tailback's propensity to be versatile in the offense. New Auburn offensive coordinator Chad Morris has a history of utilizing the running back as a pass-catcher out of the backfield in his offenses.

Malzahn thinks all the 'backs are capable of using that to their advantage, like the better offenses in the SEC recently have.

"We have very talented guys at that position and for the most part, all of them are pretty versatile and not just runners but good protectors and can catch a ball out of the backfield," Malzahn said. "I know talking to Chad that’s what he really likes to do and really if you look at the league, that’s kinda where our league is going, if you look at some of the teams from this past year and what they were doing.

"The thing that you'll see [Morris] doing a little bit more than what we've done is get our backs out of the backfield, you know, matching them up on linebackers and all that and in the pass-catching and everything that goes with that. So that will be an emphasis of his in the spring."

At season's end, Malzahn would like the Auburn offense to be charged with a powerful and versatile rushing attack, regardless of what form that takes and who leads the team in carries. Getting back on track with a 1,000-yard rusher after two consecutive years without one would also be a massive boost, he thinks.

"You look at our league over a long period of time and the teams that win championships, or have a chance to win the whole thing, they usually have a 1,000-yard rusher," Malzahn said Wednesday.

Could that be Bigsby or Richards? The first look at both for next season will come March 16 with the start of spring practice.

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