Cadillac Williams is 'so excited' for Auburn's running back room

Auburn‘s spring practice came to an end Saturday as they participated in their A-Day spring scrimmage. Mother nature wasn’t so kind on A-Day with rain showers putting a slight damper on the Tiger’s annual scrimmage, but this just meant more carries for Auburn’s running backs. Running backs coach and associate head coach Cadillac Williams spoke about his unit, showing excitement about their performance this spring and what’s to come in the fall.

“No doubt, I am so excited about the group of young men from Jarquez (Hunter), Damari (Alston), Brian (Battie), Sean Jackson, even along with Justin Jones and Luke (Reebals) man those guys are having a heck of heck of a spring,” Williams said. “I think the Auburn family’s gonna be very very excited about what they see out of those guys man.”

It’s clear that Williams has love for his group of ball carriers, as he named off every single one on Auburn’s current roster. Williams stole the heart of Auburn fans last season when he was named interim head coach following the firing of Bryan Harsin. His emotion and undeniable passion for the program he once played for earned him the associate head coaching job under new head coach Hugh Freeze. But will his running back room be able to match his energy this season?

Williams and Auburn’s staff are forced with replacing star running back Tank Bigsby this offseason, whose been their starting running back for the last three seasons and ranks seventh all-time in career rushing yards with 2,903. But thankfully Williams not only feels good about the ability of his running back room but their character and improvement this spring as well.

“Those guys are so selfless, they’ll show up each and every day working their tail off. They’re team guys, they’re guys that are true Auburn men and I love to see how those guys have progressed through spring thus far,” Williams said.

Jarquez Hunter is the likely heir apparent to Bigsby after backing him up for the past two seasons. He’s averaged an impressive 6.5 yards per carry in his career with the Tigers and splashed onto the scene in 2021 in his true freshman season earning SEC all-freshman team honors. Last season for the Tigers on just 104 carries he rushed for 668 yards and seven touchdowns, also showcasing his ability to be a receiving threat with 17 catches for 224 yards and two touchdown grabs.

Williams in the Tigers’ backfield should be in good hands with Hunter and company leading them, as the SEC’s third-best rushing offense from a season ago will look to maintain the standard they’ve set.