Williams excited about dynamic running back room
For Carnell Williams, 2023 is the first year he won’t have Tank Bigsby in his running back room since his first season coaching at Auburn, back in 2019.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love his group as he heads into his fifth year on Auburn’s staff.
“I see us being a dynamic group,” Williams said.
After spending his first two years backing up Bigsby, Jarquez Hunter will head into his third season as Auburn’s No. 1 back.
In his two seasons at Auburn, Hunter has rushed for 1,261 yards and 10 touchdowns on 6.5 yards per carry.
Williams knows what Hunter is capable of on the field, so he’s challenging the junior back in a different way.
“I’m excited for Jarquez, man, a back that I think can do it all,” Williams said. “One of the things I challenged to him is, ‘Look, you’re going to take care of you. You’re going to do you. Like, you’re one of the hardest-working kids I’ve been around; now it’s time to start bringing people along. Now it’s time for you to start holding people accountable, being more vocal around your teammates. You have earned that respect. You’re that type of player, that type of guy...’ There’s not a better human being in the world than that young man.”
With Hunter being the only returner in the running back room to have more than 100 yards in his career, it was imperative that the Tigers went and added some experience to the room – enter Brian Battie.
Battie, a 2021 consensus All-American as a returner, rushed for 1,186 yards and eight touchdowns last season at USF. He graded out at 91.4 on PFF as a rusher, which ranked No. 11 in the country.
Known for his blazing speed and shiftiness, Battie is also adept at running between the tackles despite his slight 5-foot-8 and 170 pound frame.
“Man, I’m excited about Brian,” Williams said. “I’m excited about things he can do without the football, in the pass game, kickoff returns… Now, his whole thing is he gets to come here and have an opportunity to define his role and play big-boy ball. I’m excited about Brian. I know he’s a smaller guy, man, but if you watch his film, he always falls forward. He has that natural running style where he makes guys miss.”
With the combination of Bigsby and Hunter being in front of him and his youth, Damari Alston very rarely during the 2022 season. Alston is primed for more of a role with a year of college experience under his belt, combined with Bigsby heading to the NFL.
“Excited about him,” Williams said “He’s a compact back that I feel like can be a natural runner between the tackles. A guy who’s got excellent vision, really good contact balance, and a guy who shows up each and every day like a pro, works his tail off trying to get better each and every single day. He’s another one of those selfless guys who’s going to do what’s best for the team… I’m looking forward to Damari competing and what kind of role he creates.”
Jeremiah Cobb was as dominant as a running back could hope to be at Montgomery Catholic High.
The No. 67 player in the 2023 class rushed for over 2,000 yards in his sophomore, junior and senior years of high school. He also racked up at least 10 touchdowns in each of those seasons.
“I mean, he’s a back that can do it all,” Williams said. One thing that I love about Jeremiah is, yes, he’s very talented with the ball in his hands, but I love the way that he plays the game when he don’t have the football. I could see in spring practice, whenever I seen him practice, the attention he had in the passing game of blocking—blocking for his teammates, blocking for his quarterbacks when he wasn’t getting the ball, just the way he moved around.”
Life without Bigsby won’t be easy, but Auburn has a deep room with a solid combination of experience and youth. Overall, Williams is ecstatic about his room.
“I’m blessed to be able to coach a group like that,” Williams said. “They’re self-driven, so they hold each other accountable. I’m a blessed coach to be able to have guys like that in my room.”