'Full-speed and fast' - Kamryn Pettway's Sugar Bowl plan

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Jan. 1, 2017

By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com

NEW ORLEANS - Fully recovered from a late-season leg injury, Kamryn Pettway is eager to return to the form that allowed him to lead the SEC in rushing yards per game in 2016.

"I'm feeling great," said Pettway, who averages 124.8 yards per game. "One-hundred percent."

In a four-game mid-season span, Pettway gained 770 yards and scored six touchdowns, including a career-high 236 yards against Ole Miss.

Injured late in the Vanderbilt game, Pettway missed the next two games and played sparingly in the regular season finale.

"It's a good opportunity for me," said Pettway of Monday's Allstate Sugar Bowl against No. 7 Oklahoma. "I haven't a full 100 percent since the Vanderbilt game, so I feel excited. I'm ready to get back out there and see what I can do."

Auburn fans saw what Pettway can do when healthy. In nine games, he's gone over the 100-yard mark six times, rushing for 1,123 yards and seven touchdowns.

Pettway's emergence coincided with Auburn's six-game winning streak, leading to an 8-4 record and No. 14 ranking.

"Around the LSU game, we just said we were going to keep it simple, run downhill and just make them stop us," he said.

Pettway's running mate, fellow sophomore Kerryon Johnson, also benefited from the five-week layoff since Auburn's last game.

"I do feel like me and Kerryon are one of the best 1-2 punches in the country," Pettway said. "Having a healthy offense, that's really exciting because there's no telling what we can do when we're all healthy. I think me and Kerryon, both being healthy, as well as Sean White. It's going to be a very explosive offense." Oklahoma averages 44.7 points per game while allowing 39.7.

"Our mentality is we're going to play full-speed and fast. Play Auburn football," Pettway said. "Since we've been practicing, we got all of the rust out, now. We feel like a well-oiled machine." Having already announced his intention to return for his redshirt junior season in 2017, Pettway says a Sugar Bowl victory over a top 10 opponent would create momentum for the Tigers.

"This game could be big for us for next season because we are the last game before the national championship," he said. "Beating a high-ranked team would set us in a good place for next season."

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer