Auburn Football Roster Breakdown
2021 Auburn Football Running Backs: Tank Bigsby (So.), Shaun Shivers (Sr.), Devan Barrett (Sr.), Jordon Ingram (Fr.), & Jarquez Hunter (Fr.)
Going into the 2021 season, the Auburn Tigers might have the best RB in the entire country in Tank Bigsby; but behind him there is a lot of unproven potential and many questions.
This offseason has been tumultuous for Auburn football as we have seen multiple transfers from players deciding to further their careers elsewhere and at one point left the Auburn RB room depleted to only two scholarship RBs on the roster.
We all know Tank Bigsby is going to be the #1 guy at the RB position and will look to build upon his SEC Freshman of the Year campaign last season. Bigsby rushed for over 800 yards and 5 TDs in only 10 games last season, which did not see him become the feature back until Week 3 against Arkansas. Bigsby is going to be on the Doak Walker Award watchlist and should have an argument to be the best RB in the SEC for the 2021 season.
Behind Bigsby, Shaun Shivers is back for his 4th season for the Tigers and is looking to carve out a bigger role than he has seen these past few seasons. Shivers has rushed for over 900 yards and 7 TDs while averaging over 5 yards per carry in his three seasons for the Tigers. He will always be remembered for his game-winning TD run against Alabama in 2019.
Shivers will specialize as a change-of-pace guy for Mike Bobo’s new offensive scheme and offer an experienced option to keep the wear and tear to a minimum on Bigsby, who is coming off an injury late in the 2020 season
Devan Barrett came to Auburn in the class of 2017 and was moved to defensive back, but due to the large number of transfers was moved back to RB by Bryan Harsin when he became the head coach for the Tigers. Barrett has not seen the field much as an RB for the Tigers but will not be asked to carry the load for this offense and will mostly be relied on to add depth to the position.
The final two guys in the room are just now getting to campus and are the only two products of the Harsin era. The sole RB in the 2021 recruiting class was Jarquez Hunter, who is a 3-star RB out of Philadelphia, MS that rushed for over 5,000 yards and 77 TDs in his three years of high school football.
Auburn also added transfer RB Jordon Ingram from Central Michigan this week, who is originally from Mobile, AL’s St. Paul’s Episcopal High School and was a 3-star recruit who rushed for over 1,300 yards and 18 TDs as a senior in high school. Both of these players should add much-needed depth to the RB position and should have solid careers as the future of the Auburn RB position.
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.
Outlook
The RB position might be receiving the most hype from Auburn football fans due to Tank Bigsby, but this position is going to be one of utmost importance for Harsin and his staff. All around college football we see offensive coordinators use a bi-committee approach at the RB position, which increases the need for coaches to have those three to four players they trust to carry the ball in key moments.
Auburn has failed to keep RB talent in the past year or so and it really put Harsin and this offensive staff at a disadvantage, because one injury can change the entire outlook on the position. I expect this staff to sign a minimum of two RBs in the 2021 class and depending on the availability of top recruits we could see another prospect join the RB room for 2022.
This will be a huge year for Bryan Harsin, Carnell Williams, & Mike Bobo in restocking multiple offensive positions for the Auburn Tigers and with the transfer portal becoming a staple in college football you can never have too many players ready to contribute in a moment’s notice. Harsin and his staff have done an excellent job of fixing a dire issue of depth at the RB position these past few months, but now it is time to make sure that Auburn football avoids this exact issue multiple years down the line.