AUBURN | With JaTarvious Whitlow entering the transfer portal, Auburn's running back position suddenly becomes a wide-open competition going into the start of spring drills.
Fortunately, the Tigers still have as much quality depth as they’ve had at tailback in the Gus Malzahn era including true freshman Cartavious “Tank” Bigsby, who enrolled in January.
Auburn also returns second-leading rusher, sophomore D.J. Williams, Iron Bowl hero, junior Shaun Shivers, sophomore Harold Joiner, senior Malik Miller and redshirt freshman Mark-Antony Richards.
"I think that's a position that we're very deep and we're very young and talented," Malzahn said. "And so we feel very good about the guys that we have."
Williams will be the favorite going into spring after rushing for 400 yards and two touchdowns on 84 carries as a true freshman last season. Shivers rushed for 286 yards including an 11-yard game-winning touchdown in the 2019 Iron Bowl while Joiner showed his versatility with 99 rushing yards and 128 receiving yards. Miller has rushed for 314 career yards and five touchdowns, caught 20 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown and become a key pass protector.
Malzahn announced Wednesday that Shivers would participate in both football and track this spring, instead of exclusively running track as he did the year before.
"To fit in with what Coach (Chad) Morris wants to do, you know, the thing that you'll see him 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, also, but that is a position that we have a lot of depth. We have a lot of very talented young men, too," Malzahn said.
Richards could be the wildcard of the group after sitting out last season with a knee injury. The former Rivals100 and No. 3 all-purpose back in the 2019 class with big-play ability had 3,000 all-purpose yards as a senior at Wellington (Fla.) High.
Malzahn expects Richards to be back 100 percent for the start of spring drills.
"He's back in the mix with the regular (workout) group and everything that goes with that," Malzahn said. "And obviously we recruited him for almost three years and really just think he's very versatile. He's got receiver skills. He's gotten bigger. He's got great quickness too. So, very excited to see what he can do once we get to spring."
Bigsby, also a Rivals100 standout and rated the No. 5 running back in the 2020 class, rushed for 1,636 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior at Callaway High School in LaGrange, Ga.
"He’s a one-play drive type of guy," Malzahn said. "I mean, from anywhere on the field he can take it to the house. He’s got receiver type skills with his hands. Very excited about Tank. We think he’s an impact player. We think he could help us immediately."
Whitlow, a late addition to the 2017 class, was Auburn’s leading rusher the past two seasons. He had a breakout year in 2018, leading the Tigers with 787 yards and six touchdowns on 150 carries. He added 763 yards and 10 more touchdowns last fall to finish his AU career with 1,550 yards and 16 touchdowns on 306 carries.
Whitlow added 21 receptions for 279 yards and two touchdowns along with serving as Auburn’s Wildcat quarterback the past two seasons, throwing a 9-yard touchdown pass at Georgia in 2018.
Auburn will begin spring practice on March 16 and the A-Day game will be held April 11. The 2010 national championship team will be honored during A-Day and there will be a celebration at Toomer's Corner afterwards.
