Oct. 27, 2016
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Two of the Top 10 rushers in the Southeastern Conference. A converted wide receiver who is averaging almost seven yards a carry. A freshman running back who scored on a 51-yard run in the last game.
No wonder Gus Malzahn praised running backs Kamryn Pettway, Kerryon Johnson, Stanton Truitt and Kameron Martin on Auburn's Tiger Talk radio show Thursday night after the Tigers wrapped up their preparation for Saturday's 6:15 p.m. game at Ole Miss.
Pettway leads the SEC in rushing, Johnson is also in the Top 10, Truitt has shown his speed and Martin has made the most of his opportunities.
"We've got three outstanding running backs. Now, we're at the point you can utilize each of them," Malzahn said. "Kamryn Pettway, the last two games, really established himself as one of the top guys in our leagues. Kerryon Johnson, the way he started off the season, established himself. Stanton Truitt was just a different change of pace. You'll see all three of them play."
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"Kameron Martin, I don't want to throw him out. He's an outstanding running back, too," Malzahn added.
Auburn is only one of three schools in big-time college football averaging more than 300 yards rushing per game. The Tigers check in at 302.9.
Malzahn said Auburn's run game, which set an SEC regular-season rushing record of 543 yards in last Saturday's 56-3 win over Arkansas, received a boost from its blocking wide receivers, saying they blocked better "than the last couple of years."
Malzahn credited new receivers coach Kodi Burns for that.
"The great thing about Kodi Burns when he played for us and we won the national championship, our receivers were the best blocking receivers in college football. I don't think it was even close," Malzahn said. "He's instilling that same mentality in them. They're playing extremely hard. They're a bunch of young guys out there, too. They're really playing extremely well right now."
AlsoÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬¦
- Malzahn said "our guys had an outstanding week of practice."
"I told them we had a great week of preparation, and I think we're fresh, too. We tried to practice smart this year, and you could tell fresh we were Saturday. My No. 1 goal this week is to get our guys fresh to the game."
- Malzahn says he isn't changing anything after beating Arkansas in such a convincing fashion.
"The big thing is you can't change anything you've done before. You can't change your approach. You can't worry about what you're ranked. You can't worry about what people are saying. You've got to do exactly what you've been doing. That's our mindset.
"We're putting all of our energy into this one."
Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMine