One of the most important returners for the Auburn Tigers this season on offense is undoubtedly senior running back Jeremiah Cobb. In an offense that was nearly always frustrating to watch, the running back was one of the bright spots in the system.
New head coach Alex Golesh and offensive coordinator Joel Gordon have emphasized that they plan to build the Tigers' offensive identity around the run game this fall, a return to Auburn's roots and history of producing strong running backs. The plan was built around Cobb, and several additional running backs — all starters at their last stop — were brought in as well as the young returner Omar Mabson.
Despite all of this, the Tigers' star running back is still being overlooked heading into the 2026 season, and was most recently left off College Football Report's list of top 30 college football running backs entering the 2026 season.
The Top 30 College Football Runningbacks Entering The 2026 Season 🪨 pic.twitter.com/cgx3QwXSz5
— College Football Report (@CFBReport) August 4, 2026
Missouri's Ahmad Hardy and Ole Miss's Kewan Lacy top the list, and several other SEC running backs made an appearance too. Hardy racked up 1,649 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns last season, and Lacy logged 1,567 yards and 24 touchdowns.
The player with the most rushing yards on the list is Cam Cook with 1,659 yards, who played for Jacksonville State last year but transferred to West Virginia. The player with the fewest yards on the list is Notre Dame's Aneyas Williams with 550 yards. The player with the most touchdowns on the list is Caleb Hawkins, who scored 25 touchdowns with North Texas last year before transferring to Oklahoma State. The players with the fewest touchdowns are Williams again and RaLeek Brown, both of whom scored four touchdowns last season.
In comparison, Cobb finished last season with 969 rushing yards and two touchdowns. While his yardage blows some of the players on this list out of the water, it seems the two touchdowns were enough for his name to be left off the list.
Cobb began last season as a backup, but quickly overtook Damari Alston in the pecking order. He was the glue that held the offense together last season, but still ended up with a stat line that could be more impressive thanks to a myriad of things including questionable coaching decisions.
Cobb is expected to be Alex Golesh's standout RB1 this fall, and with Byrum Brown at quarterback and a well-established plan to run the ball, it's likely that Cobb's stat line is a lot more impressive at the end of the 2026 season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google