When it comes to the best returning running back in the SEC, the conversation begins and ends with Auburn football star and potential Heisman hopeful Tank Bigsby.
Unless the conversation is moderated by 247Sports apparently.
The college athletics publication is essentially an encyclopedia for those looking to be in the know for all things NCAA.
That’s why it was a shock to see the Tigers RB not included in 247Sports’ Top 10 list of the best players in the SEC:
Who else is gonna crack the Top 10 by the end of the season? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/b7Z7tYwcaE
— 247Sports (@247Sports) May 10, 2021
Their list is filled with OL and DL studs, which is not something Fly War Eagle is here to argue with. The main issue we have with this list is the inclusion of both QB Matt Corral and RB Kevin Harris.
Let’s start with Corral. While the Ole Miss gunslinger could elevate his draft stock with a big senior year following a standout season with the Rebels in 2020. His 29:14 TD/INT ration and 3,300+ yards certainly command respect, but his team’s status as a sub-.500 bottom feeder in the SEC West should be held against him, especially since Bigsby ran over the Ole Miss defense in Oxford when Auburn football knocked off the Rebels this past October.
Unfortunately, Bigsby doesn’t have the same argument with Harris, as the Gamecocks knocked off the Tigers when Auburn football took to Columbia the week before the Ole Miss matchup. That said, in the head-to-head matchup, Bigsby had a superior Saturday when the two faced off with 111 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries while Harris had 27 less yards (albeit an extra TD) on nine more attempts on the ground.
Harris has superior counting stats, with 304 more yards on the ground and 10 more TDs. While scoring TDs has a lot of situational luck involved, the yard discrepancy could be explained by Harris’ 185 rush attempts compared to Tank’s 138.
If we were to assume Bigsby collects his season average of six yards per attempt on those 47 attempts that make up the difference, the disparity would be a mere 22 yards. And that’s with Bigsby sharing the backfield with Shaun Shivers.
All in all, this list doesn’t determine what happens on the field this fall. But Tank was still snubbed.
War Eagle!