aubiefifty 18,231 Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 SPRING FOOTBALL POSITION PREVIEWS: Running Backs The biggest win of Harsin’s tenure so far gets covered here. By JackCondon@CollegeAndMag Mar 12, 2021, 7:56pm CST Share this story Share this on Facebook (opens in new window) are this on Twitter (opens in new window) l sharing options John Reed-USA TODAY Sports Over the past couple of days, we’ve taken a look at some positions on Auburn’s football team that will have a huge impact on how things go in 2021. With quarterback, the Tigers are looking for marked improvement, and with the linebackers, Auburn will be hoping that a scheme shift and help up front continues to pay dividends for some of the best players in the SEC. Instead of stressing about things that might or might not happen, let’s enjoy the labors of a hard week and look at what will happen with a position that we all know and love. Bryan Harsin’s biggest win so far is arguably contained here. When he cobbled together a staff, the holdovers were few and far in between, but one remaining coach paid off in spades. Keeping Cadillac Williams as the running backs coach allowed Harsin to snag his biggest recruit before making a call to a high school player. With Cadillac remaining, Tank Bigsby decided to stay in the fold as well. As far as players transferring from the team go, there really was only one absolute must-keep talent, and that’s Tank. Bigsby burst onto the scene last year as one of the SEC’s top tailbacks as a true freshman, and his talent was evident even during a terrible night in Athens. While the offense sputtered, you could see Tank doing literally everything he could to evade Bulldog defenders. His skill was immediately visible, and he followed that game up with three straight 100-yard performances. Defenses eventually sold out to stop him, and an injury against Tennessee limited him until the last game of the season, where he exploded for 192 yards in the win over Mississippi State. He explored the options to leave Auburn with rumors that Cadillac Williams possibly leaving the coaching staff, but he remained on the team with his coach, and he’ll be the focal point of an offense that’ll be new for the rest of the SEC to defend. The opportunities for him are endless, but Auburn needs him to stay healthy to make it happen. RUNNING BACKS THE GUYS Projected Starter: Tank Bigsby - SO - 6’0, 204 Career Stats: 138 carries, 834 yards, 6.0 ypc, 5 TDs Other Contributors: Shaun Shivers - 62 carries, 276 yards, 4.5 ypc, 1 TD; Devan Barrett - 14 carries, 79 yards (no carries since 2017) Biggest Question: Can Auburn do what it needs to with an extremely thin running back rotation? While Auburn might have the best pure running back it’s had since Cadillac Williams, the Tigers aren’t enjoying the spoils of a deep running back room. Losing D.J. Williams (to Florida State) and Mark-Antony Richards (to UCF with Gus Malzahn) hurts the Tigers in that there are very few folks to spell Bigsby, and we really don’t have anyone that can be that every down back aside from him. Shaun Shivers will always be a folk hero and should never pay for a Momma G’s nacho basket ever again, but he’s sadly just not the kind of tailback that can carry the load that Auburn might need this season. He’s strong, and can provide the change of pace, but this might be a fantastically heavy season for Tank. Aside from Shivers, Devan Barrett hasn’t carried the ball since a three-yard loss against UCF in the Peach Bowl. He’s a talented guy, but there’s a reason he switched to defensive back and couldn’t beat out Boobee Whitlow in the rotation (who never was the most special tailback). Despite plenty of practice this spring, Barrett will likely take a little time to become accustomed to carrying the ball again after a year on the defensive side of the ball. Other than those two, Auburn should bring in Jarquez Hunter in the fall, but he’ll likely be counted on as a last resort. I’m sure he’ll get carries, and try to keep the pressure off of Tank in some of the easier non-conference games and if the Tigers happen to be enjoying a large lead. All in all, that means that Auburn will be leaning on the Tank. And is that a problem? Absolutely not. 2020’s SEC Freshman of the Year could make a campaign for even larger awards if things can shake out in his favor in terms of health and a couple of units around him coming together nicely. Kerryon Johnson carried the ball 285 times in 2017. Peyton Barber had 238 carries in 2015. Cameron Artis-Payne had 303 carries in 2014, while Tre Mason posted 317 carries in 2013. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tank get close to what Mason did in 2013 on the way to a conference championship. If he stays healthy, he ought to be the focal point of an offense that’ll be finding itself in other areas. Bo Nix has some vast improvement to make, and we’ll be breaking in new receivers across the board. It’s Tank’s chance to shine. Auburn needs a little luck in 2021 to have the kind of season that would satisfy most in Harsin’s first season, but maybe some of the magic on he and Bobo’s part will be to figure out ways to manage the offense and the pitch count for a guy like Tank. We’ll need him more than nearly anyone else if we want to have a chance to compete with the big opponents on our schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumterAubie 3,086 Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 Dang, I hope Bigsby's carries are not close to Mason's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnacle 9,107 Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 On 3/13/2021 at 8:14 PM, SumterAubie said: Dang, I hope Bigsby's carries are not close to Mason's. We will see. Harsin has ridden guys hard in the past. In 2016, Jeremy McNichols ran the ball 314 times. RB2 had 67 carries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 18,231 Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 3 hours ago, Barnacle said: We will see. Harsin has ridden guys hard in the past. In 2016, Jeremy McNichols ran the ball 314 times. RB2 had 67 carries. it appears you have researched harsin some. did you run across things that upped your worry factor? i would not want to get you in trouble with anyone on the board of course if you decline. most sports writers seem big on him while a few seemed a tad critical. i guess i could just wait and see. but surely with all the inside info we have heard concerning gus surely he can match or beat gus? gus changing game plans on a friday nights before the game too often was like a holy crap to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnacle 9,107 Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 9 minutes ago, aubiefifty said: it appears you have researched harsin some. did you run across things that upped your worry factor? i would not want to get you in trouble with anyone on the board of course if you decline. most sports writers seem big on him while a few seemed a tad critical. i guess i could just wait and see. but surely with all the inside info we have heard concerning gus surely he can match or beat gus? gus changing game plans on a friday nights before the game too often was like a holy crap to me. All I've seen has been positive in my mind, but the results will speak for themselves. Certainly, the expectation is for him to outperform Gus, but he will need a few seasons before I'll be ready to make that judgment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rednilla 5,447 Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Yeah, I definitely hope he doesn't have to lean on Tank as much as Malzahn leaned on Tre Mason in 2013. I'd prefer to see Tank at about 250-275 carries and Shivers at around 125ish. But health will play a huge part, obviously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 18,231 Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 13 minutes ago, Rednilla said: Yeah, I definitely hope he doesn't have to lean on Tank as much as Malzahn leaned on Tre Mason in 2013. I'd prefer to see Tank at about 250-275 carries and Shivers at around 125ish. But health will play a huge part, obviously. tre had some serious issues mentally after leaving auburn. i believe he got help and is doing a lot better but i have often wondered if the beating he took playing for gus took a toll. i believe he was bipolar maybe? with all those shots you know he got pooped in the head a lot. he was one of and still is one of my favorite players so i have tried to keep up with him. last i heard he was working with some kids that played running back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rednilla 5,447 Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 2 minutes ago, aubiefifty said: tre had some serious issues mentally after leaving auburn. i believe he got help and is doing a lot better but i have often wondered if the beating he took playing for gus took a toll. i believe he was bipolar maybe? with all those shots you know he got pooped in the head a lot. he was one of and still is one of my favorite players so i have tried to keep up with him. last i heard he was working with some kids that played running back? Yeah, I feel pretty sure that the pounding he took in 2013 had something to do with his issues, and have for years. Psychological problems don't have to be from getting popped in the head over and over, but it certainly doesn't help anything. That season is what convinced me that you really do need at least two capable runners healthy at all times to rotate, rather than it just being a helpful tool, like I thought after the 04 season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbeaux38 312 Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 14 minutes ago, aubiefifty said: tre had some serious issues mentally after leaving auburn. i believe he got help and is doing a lot better but i have often wondered if the beating he took playing for gus took a toll. i believe he was bipolar maybe? with all those shots you know he got pooped in the head a lot. he was one of and still is one of my favorite players so i have tried to keep up with him. last i heard he was working with some kids that played running back? I wonder if some of those issues were chemically induced? His behavior really went off the rails when LA drafted Gurley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 18,231 Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 he rushed for 1800 plus yards and 23 touchdowns in 13. i believe his mother said it was mental issues and not drugs but that was a few years ago. i know all the kids want that big money and i am sure tre did but i believe he just loved playing. i just bought his auto rookie card for five bucks and tax. i love collecting auburn players and cards. but anyway i hope he is ok. the stories i have heard about terry beasley playing and his problems now are pretty scary. when they thought he was dying a ton of auburn fans sent letter and cards and perked him up enough to get him back home. and still hanging in there. sorry for writing a book on you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbeaux38 312 Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 18 minutes ago, aubiefifty said: he rushed for 1800 plus yards and 23 touchdowns in 13. i believe his mother said it was mental issues and not drugs but that was a few years ago. i know all the kids want that big money and i am sure tre did but i believe he just loved playing. i just bought his auto rookie card for five bucks and tax. i love collecting auburn players and cards. but anyway i hope he is ok. the stories i have heard about terry beasley playing and his problems now are pretty scary. when they thought he was dying a ton of auburn fans sent letter and cards and perked him up enough to get him back home. and still hanging in there. sorry for writing a book on you. "On July 23, Mason's mother called police because of her son's "unusual behavior" and "irrational statements." According to the police report, Mason told responding officers that day he was "going to call the White House and we were all going to lose our jobs" and "the police were responsible for teaching al-Qaida how to fly planes." This leads me to believe he might have been in a bit of a chemically enhanced state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 18,231 Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 3 minutes ago, Timbeaux38 said: "On July 23, Mason's mother called police because of her son's "unusual behavior" and "irrational statements." According to the police report, Mason told responding officers that day he was "going to call the White House and we were all going to lose our jobs" and "the police were responsible for teaching al-Qaida how to fly planes." This leads me to believe he might have been in a bit of a chemically enhanced state. it could be but folks with mental problems talk like that as well. i wonder if he failed any drug tests at auburn? seemed like he was clean. too old to remember and too much going on to look it up because i got about five windows open. i just hope he is better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbeaux38 312 Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 3 minutes ago, aubiefifty said: it could be but folks with mental problems talk like that as well. i wonder if he failed any drug tests at auburn? seemed like he was clean. too old to remember and too much going on to look it up because i got about five windows open. i just hope he is better. I cant remember either. It is a shame he didn't pan out in the league- kid had some real talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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