Hugh Freeze, Auburn glad to have Jarquez Hunter back on the field

Jarquez Hunter returned to the field in Auburn’s 14-10 win over Cal Saturday and head coach Hugh Freeze was glad to have him back.

Hunter missed the opener after an offseason suspension when a video surfaced of him allegedly performing sexual acts. Little other information has come forth since then, via official channels or otherwise.

However, he was back in uniform for Week 2 and Freeze evaluated his performance.

“We’re just glad to have him back tonight and won’t discuss the process (but) excited to have him back,” Freeze said. “I thought he looked rusty though. You know, I thought Demari was solid … Jeremiah Cobb got something to do. Something. Can be hard to get (them all carries) …  So we’ll have to kind of evaluate how we’re going to handle that.”

Hunter finished the win over Cal with 11 carries for 53 yards while Damari Alston had eight for 51 yards. Cobb had just three carries for 20 yards.

As a member of the Class of 2021, Hunter was a three-star recruit out of Philadelphia (Miss.) Neshoba Central, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 11 overall prospect in the state, the No. 49 running back in the class and the No. 734 overall prospect in the class.

Hunter had been suspended since May and Freeze said very little, stating at various points that he couldn’t or wouldn’t comment on the running back’s status. He was, however, glad to have a star running back with the team again after his time away.

Jarquez Hunter a timely return for Auburn

At SEC Media Days this summer, Freeze publicly spoke about the situation for the first time and said he couldn’t comment at that time.

“I’m not allowed to comment on the university’s policies or procedures at this point,” he said.

Auburn’s statement announcing the suspensions was vague and didn’t specifically name any players. Before he took the podium, Freeze met with reporters in Nashville and when asked if any other players received a punishment, he again said he couldn’t comment on university policy.

“We are aware of the situation and take this matter very seriously,” the statement read. “The appropriate office are conducting a thorough review. Indefinite suspensions have been issued for violation of applicable Auburn Athletics department policy. No further comment will be provided at this time.”

Matt Connolly contributed to this report