Auburn football will be without star running back Damari Alston on Saturday in the Tigers' home opener against Ball State.
Hugh Freeze announced on Thursday that the back will not play against the Cardinals, according to ON3's Caleb Jones. In the season-opening win against Baylor, Alston suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out for a few drives before he reentered the game in the fourth quarter.
After waiting in the wings for the starting role, Alston rushed 16 times for 84 yards and a touchdown in the 38-24 win against the Bears. His 9-yard touchdown run in the second quarter put Auburn up 14-3. Alston was also crucial on Jackson Arnold's second touchdown run on 4th-and-1 in the fourth quarter that clinched the game, throwing a block that helped spring the Auburn quarterback up the middle and untouched for the touchdown.
Alston was part of an Auburn offense that put up 307 rushing yards and four touchdowns against Baylor. The Tigers are ranked 10th in rushing offense after Week 1 of the 2025 college football season. Arnold led the Tigers with 137 yards and two touchdowns, while Jeremiah Cobb added 74 yards and a score on 16 carries.
In his previous three seasons with the Tigers, Alston rushed for 681 yards and five touchdowns while serving as a backup to Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter.
Cobb, a junior from Montgomery, Ala., will get his first start in his three-year career at Auburn. In the previous two seasons, he has rushed for 314 yards and two scores. Durell Robinson, a transfer from UConn, and Omar Mabson, a true freshman from Auburn HS, will be in backup duty for Alston against the Cardinals.
Auburn (1-0) battles Ball State (0-1) at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game airs on ESPNU.