Auburn football’s standout freshman running back Tank Bigsby made waves in the 2020 season, and Tiger fans weren’t the only ones who noticed. Bleacher Report says Tank Bigsby is one of 10 underclassmen with a shot at winning the 2021 Heisman Trophy.
Tank Bigsby was a four-star recruit out of high school and the No. 4 running back in the 2020 class. According to B/R, Bryan Harsin could be leaning heavily on Bigsby in the upcoming season with Bo Nix’s failure to progress.
In his first season, the Lagrange, GA native earned SEC Freshman of the Year and first-team All-SEC at the running back position. Bigsby had 834 rushing yards in Auburn’s 10 regular-season games with five touchdowns. He also caught 11 passes for 84 yards.
Per PFF Draft on Twitter, Bigsby is the #5 highest graded true freshman in 2020, and according to David Hale, Tank Bigsby has the third-highest broken tackle percentage:
Highest-graded true freshmen in 2020:
— PFF College (@PFF_College) February 17, 2021
1. Marvin Mims, Oklahoma - 88.9
2. Deuce Vaughn, Kansas St. - 88.4
3. Frank Gore Jr, Sou Miss - 86.6
4. Myles Murphy, Clemson - 85.2
5. Tank Bigsby, Auburn - 84.1 pic.twitter.com/G2esCGjWYc
Highest broken tackle%
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) February 18, 2021
1 Javonte Williams, 37.2%
2 Bam Knight, 30.7%
3 Tank Bigsby, 30.2%
Knight was only player with 10 TDs, 700 rush yad, 100 rec yd & 300 return yd last year.
Strong case that NC State enters 2021 with the best back in the ACC.
Also on Bleacher Report’s list are running backs Deuce Vaughn (Kansas State), Will Shipley (Clemson), and Bijan Robinson (Texas). The remaining six are quarterbacks Max Johnson (LSU), Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina), Spencer Rattler (Oklahoma), C.J. Stroud (Ohio State), D.J. Uiagalelei (Clemson), and Bryce Young (Alabama).
If Bigsby were to win the Heisman Trophy, he’d be the fourth Auburn football player to do so after Pat Sullivan, Bo Jackson, and Cam Newton. When Newton won in 2010, he followed Alabama’s Mark Ingram, who won in 2009.
Is history about to repeat itself? With Alabama’s DeVonta Smith winning the 2020 Trophy, it’s high time for another Auburn man to join the prestigious ranks.