Auburn football: 5 Tigers that could step up following Bo Nix’s injury

Auburn football RB Tank Bigsby

Anyone with an opinion on college football would have told you coming into the season that Tank Bigsby would be the focal point of the Tigers offense. That has not turned out to be the case, with Bigsby having just two games of 20 or more carries to his resume in 2021.

He ran for over 100 yards in both games, peaking three weekends ago on the Plains with 150 all-purpose yards and a touchdown against Ole Miss. We may need to see more high-usage Bigsby efforts moving forward, especially against a South Carolina D that defends the pass better than they do the rush this coming weekend.

Auburn football RB Jarquez Hunter

Much like Tank Bigsby, Jarquez Hunter needs to up the ante with dual-threat QB Bo Nix out for the season. Hunter has seen a steeper fall from grace than Bigsby, having failed to break 50 yards rushing for the past five games.

Hunter has collected just two touchdowns since scoring in each of his first two games, both against substantially weaker competition in Akron and Alabama State. In order to prove those weren’t just showcase games against teams several weight classes lower weren’t outliers, Hunter needs to finish strong and help open up the run game to give TJ Finley more of a chance to deliver against defenses on their toes because of AU’s RBs.