Auburn football transfer running back Brian Battie is set to make more of an impact than the carries he’ll receive in the Tigers backfield — with his 659 kick return yards serving as a reminder of what else he can do on a football field.
Battie, one of the team’s premier additions to the 2023 Tigers via first-year Auburn football head coach Hugh Freeze, running backs coach Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, and first-year offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery, will be a potential game-changer in special teams too. Along with projected starting running back Jarquez Hunter, Battie will be fielding punt and kickoff returns in 2023.
That’s the additional impact ESPN’s Craig Haubert (subscription required) was referring to in his piece about college football transfer portal steals and impact players:
"“Playing for a program that has won just three games the past two seasons, he remains a bit overlooked. That may not be the case in 2023. The Tigers lose Tank Bigsby, but return a more powerful runner in Jarquez Hunter, which can make Battie a nice complementary player in the backfield. Considering Battie was an All-American returner during his time at USF, he could have an additional impact for Auburn.”"
Auburn football could boost running game by giving the reins to Robby Ashford
We saw in the final four games of the 2022 what the Auburn football running game could do, even with an underwhelming offensive line, with Robby Ashford under center: a 274 rushing yards per game average and 1,096 total.
With the threat of a QB scramble out of the gate, the running backs benefit from less attention and extra breathing room in the RPO and in screen pass scenarios. Ashford makes things less predictable for AU’s offense and creates a chaotic environment for opposing defensive coordinators to have to adapt to.
With Spencer Sanders choosing Ole Miss, it looks like Ashford is more than likely Freeze’s QB1 of choice right now — which should only benefit Jarquez Hunter and Brian Battie in 2023.