Freshman RB jump-starts winning drive

AUBURN | It wasn’t Jarquez Hunter or Damari Alston that Auburn turned to with the game on the line.

It was true freshman Jeremiah Cobb that jump-started the Tigers’ game-winning drive at California.

Cobb opened up the drive with a 6-yard run followed up by a 5-yard run to earn a first down. Eight plays later, AU would cap the 69-yard drive with a touchdown and a 14-10 win.

“Just the spark that he creates when he touches the ball, when he makes plays, I feel like he’ll be a really good player for us going forward,” said Alston.

Cobb finished the Cal game with 20 yards on three carries. His biggest play, a 24-yard run on a reverse at the end of the third quarter, was wiped out due to a holding penalty.

He had a 42-yard TD run in the opening win over UMass.

After two weeks, Alston leads Auburn with 94 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Cobb has 77 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, Hunter, who missed the first game, has 53 yards on 11 carries and Brian Battie 37 yards on nine carries.

“I love it every time (Cobb) has the ball in his hands,” said AU coach Hugh Freeze. “The problem is I like Jarquez and I like Damari and I like Battie also. But Jeremiah’s got something different to him. And the stage, to this point, doesn’t appear to be too big for him. I would only see his involvement growing, for sure, not diminishing.”

Freeze called this the deepest running back room he’s had in his coaching career, which can make it tough finding carries for a group that also includes former walk-on Sean Jackson, who rushed for 64 yards against UMass, and current walk-on Justin Jones, who rushed for 33 against the Minutemen.

“It’s a challenge,” he said. “Hopefully, we can find a way to keep them all involved because I think they all add something to us that can help us win.”

Auburn (2-0) hosts Samford Saturday night at 6 p.m. CT on SECN+/ESPN+.