Auburn Football 2022 Recruiting Outlook: Running Backs
Auburn football RB targets
Potential Targets: Omarion Hampton, Damari Alston, Quinshon Judkins
Omarion Hampton might be the biggest target for the Tigers and received his offer back in March from the new Auburn football staff. He has his official visit scheduled for June 11th and will be on campus with current Auburn QB commit Holden Geriner. Hampton is a 4-star prospect, the #136 player, and the #11 RB in the 2022 class out of Clayton, NC.
Hampton has rushed for over 3,400 yards & 49 TDs in his first three years in high school, while leading Cleveland to a deep 3AA playoff run. This past season was one of his best, in which he averaged over 11 yards per carry and over 135 yards per game in a COVID-shortened season. Hampton shows a unique ability to make defenders miss in space, while possessing a unique playmaking ability that you cannot coach and really separates the average RBs from the great RBs at the next level.
The Tigers will have fight off schools like Ohio State, Penn State, Florida, & North Carolina for Hampton’s signature on National Signing Day. This will be a long recruitment, but Hampton is talented enough to come to the Plains and fight for playing time immediately so it will be one to watch in the coming months.
Damari Alston is another target that has been at the top of the Auburn board for a while now. He even received his offer from Auburn back in August of 2020 and was offered again after the Harsin staff was finalized. Right now, Alston is scheduled to visit the Plains on June 9th and the Auburn staff will finally have their chance to sell Alston on the Tigers. Alston is a 4-star prospect and the #311 player and #31 RB in the 2022 recruiting class and rushed for over 2,500 yards and 36 TDs over his three years at Woodward Academy in Atlanta, GA.
Alston shows excellent patience as a runner, but once he finds the hole, he has the ability to explode through it and possesses the breakaway speed to burn the backend of the defense. He runs low, which allows him to upend defenders and bully smaller defenders when he meets them in the open field. I think Alston fits the mold we have seen from many Auburn RBs these past few years and should be able to find a place in the rotation if he ends up coming to the Plains.
Quinshon Judkins is Auburn’s top in-state target at the RB spot and will be a priority for RB coach Carnell Williams and Mike Bobo. He has yet to announce the official date but is expected to announce his official visit sometime this month. Judkins is a 3-star prospect out of Pike Road, AL and is the #529 player and the #43 RB in the 2022 class.
Judkins has rushed for over 2,600 yards and 41 TDs over his first two years of high school, which has caught the recent attention of Power-5 programs around the country. Judkins runs a lot of plays out of the Wildcat formation for Pike Road and it is utilized as the primary red-zone option, which is something the Tigers really lacked at times until Bigsby stepped in last season. Judkins is the lowest rated option out of the three RBs in this article but might have one of the highest ceilings of the potential targets for the Tigers.
If Judkins continues his upward trajectory, then the Tigers might have to fight off a lot of top programs but should have the upper hand as the in-state option. This commitment might not generate a lot of headlines but could signal the arrival of Auburn’s future RB1.