Tigers sign 'one-play drive type of guy'

AUBURN | It should come as no surprise that the top signee in Auburn’s 2020 class could have the biggest impact this fall.

And it may only take Cartavious ‘Tank’ Bigsby just a handful of seconds to make that happen.

“He's a one-play drive type of guy.” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “I mean from anywhere on the field, he can take it to the house. I think that's very important. He has great balance, great instincts, can break tackles, which you have to break tackles in this league if you're going to be a successful running back.

“And then, of course, watching him in 7-on-7s when their teams come, he's got receiver skills, too. I think that's really good, also.”

Bigsby, 6-foot and 209 pounds, committed to Auburn Aug. 9 over a number of top schools including Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Florida, Florida State, South Carolina, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State.

First-year running backs coach Carnell Williams was key in earning Bigsby’s commitment and then holding off a strong late push from several schools including Georgia.

“Bigsby was on our board as the No. 1 running back for a long time. Coach Cadillac Williams did a super job with recruiting him,” Malzahn said.

Playing through an ankle injury as a senior, Bigsby had 1,636 yards and 27 touchdowns on 143 carries. He averaged 11.4 yards per carry leading Callaway High School to the semifinals in Class AA. Bigsby excelled during the playoff run starting with 314 yards and a touchdown against Elbert County and then 238 yards and four touchdowns against Hapevile-Charter. He went for 171 yards with four more touchdowns against Douglass before 228 yards and two touchdowns in a 39-34 loss to Brooks County.

Bigsby plans to enroll at Auburn in January, joining what should be one of the deepest and most talented group of running backs that Auburn’s had in quite a while.

Despite that depth, Malzahn expects Bigsby to make an immediate impact.

“You can't have enough depth at the running back position in our league. And you've seen that throughout the years,” Malzahn said. “But, you know, we're building this thing the right way. Coach Cadillac is doing a real good job. A lot of those running backs are pretty versatile, too. There could be times you could see two running backs on the field at the same time, moving forward, too. So we'll just have to see once we get through spring practice. But we really have some really talented guys in that room.”

Bigsby and rated a 5-star and the nation's No. 1 running back and No. 20 overall prospect by Rivals.com.