AU Football needs RB depth & production to avoid repeat of 2017, and ‘18 for that matter

You’re probably asking yourself, ‘why would AU Football want to avoid a repeat of 2017, especially considering we won the West?’

Let me clarify.

But first, let’s go back to last season when Auburn’s most productive running back, Boobee Whitlow battled injuries throughout the year which lead to Auburn’s rushing offense not only struggling, but the SEC record streak of consecutive seasons with a 1,000-yard ‘back ended at nine for Auburn.

Of course, Whitlow’s lack of durability in his redshirt freshman season wasn’t the sole reason Auburn’s running game sputtered and the streak came to an end, especially considering he was a bright spot who was named Freshman All-SEC for 2018.

Auburn’s lack of running prowess last season can be attributed to a myriad of different reasons, but the fact Whitlow battled injuries further reiterates the ultimate point of this article.

The year previous in 2017, the Tigers featured current Detroit Lion star running back Kerryon Johnson, but many critics feel Gus Malzahn ran him into the ground and by the time the most important game needed to be played, the 2017 SEC Championship, Kerryon couldn’t carry on like his typical bad ass self.

Yes, the 2017 Auburn football season was a memorable one, especially Amen Corner that saw the Tigers defeat both of its rivals, who were each ranked No. 1 at the time — Georgia & Alabama — by double digits within a two week time frame, which in turn made a two-loss Auburn program the hottest team in college football after earning a birth to Atlanta.

After the dust settled from Auburn’s 26-14 Iron Bowl victory, the CFB Playoff committee vaulted the Tigers up to the No. 2 ranked playoff team prior to The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry rematch in the SEC Championship, a mere 21 days after Auburn manhandled the Bulldogs, 40-17 inside Jordan-Hare.

Except this time, Houston, we have a problem — the 2017 SEC Offensive Player of the Year, Kerryon Johnson had hurt his shoulder in the Iron Bowl after diving and stretching for a touchdown. The most lethal offensive weapon in the conference would be but a shell of himself in the SEC Championship.

Instead of Auburn continuing their hot streak riding the wave of momentum with Kerryon, the backups through no fault of their own couldn’t come close to mimicking the production of a healthy Kerryon Johnson as the Tigers could only muster 114 rushing yards in the championship rematch with 44 of them coming from a gimpy Johnson. Auburn ran for 237 yards in the first meeting, more than twice as much.

I like Gus Malzahn. I think he’s a fine coach. But no one’s perfect and Malzahn certainly isn’t. I think a fair criticism is that he has a tendency to rely on one guy in the backfield instead of taking a true by committee approach so that you keep your best ‘back — Boobee Whitlow — as fresh for postseason as midseason.

Whitlow started his 2019 campaign off with a solid performance last Saturday against the Oregon Ducks in Dallas. The sophomore running back had 24 carries for 110 yards, with most of those yards coming in the second half.

In the fourth quarter, after a run inside the redzone, Whitlow looked completely gassed, indicating that he needed a break and even running towards the sideline before strangely being told to go back onto the field. On the next play, Whitlow’s number was called again on a wildcat play and he went around the right corner striving, but sputtering and tired as hell, he came about a yard short of the goal line. He ended up getting the breath knocked out of him and stayed on the ground for a while after the play.

Coming back from commercial break, ABC cameras showed Whitlow on the sideline holding an oxygen mask to his face. I agree with Coach Malzahn that Whitlow should get the most carries, but if he asked me for my two cents then I’d simply encourage him to start using more of a true running back rotation because the season is so long, I want to ensure that our running backs stay fresh all year. If you have a championship mindset then that’s a FIFTEEN game season and you’ll have a completely different outlook regarding carry distribution among your rushers.

Kam Martin is now a senior, and he needs to be the second guy to come out after Boobee. Shaun Shivers is likely the next man, as he had 4 carries for 2 yards in the game against Oregon so he needs to get going, while Martin also totaled 4 carries, but for 11 yards. I’d like to see D.J. Williams involved as well as some Harold Joiner. And of course Eli Stove, Matthew Hill, and eventually Anthony Schwartz will be able to take those jet-sweeps again.

Hopefully Malzahn will begin to trust and utilize other runners to give Whitlow a break during this long and tough SEC season. This will pay dividends down the road in keeping Auburn’s best ‘backs fresh and will be very beneficial if something like an injury occurs.

Malzahn will have the perfect opportunity to truly implement a solid running back rotation in week two of the college football season as No. 10 Auburn (1-0) hosts former SEC member Tulane (1-0) after the Tigers’ impressive, 27-21 come from behind win over Pac-12 favorite Oregon in week one. The game kicks off at 6:30 pm/c and will be televised by ESPN 2 and will stream on the Watch ESPN app and ESPN+. Auburn Network will begin their radio broadcast three hours prior to kickoff at 3:30 pm/c.