Dec. 13, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- Now that Kerryon Johnson is a running back at Auburn and part of that fraternity, he doesn't always grasp the magnitude of talking to Bo Jackson on the sideline or talking to Ronnie Brown during the week or seeing Joe Cribbs in the locker room after a game. Those are Auburn legends, but sometimes it takes a friend telling Johnson, `Hey, you know that's Bo Jackson talking to you,' for him to appreciate it.
That's because Johnson has joined that list of great Auburn running backs after a season in which he led the SEC with 1,320 rushing yards and 19 total touchdowns. He finished with more rushing touchdowns in SEC play (15) than any other running back in school history.
"It's really crazy to think about," Johnson said. "Just coming out of high school, I never really pictured myself just being a part of a list in any regard.
"And the thing about Auburn is I didn't even know who Joe Cribbs was until I got here, until I met him. It's like every day there's somebody associated with this school at running back that someone knew. It's Stephen Davis. It's Joe Cribbs. Everybody knows the Bo Jacksons and Tre Mason more recently, but there are just so many people in between, so many people before.
"That's just a legacy that I wanted to continue and thankfully I did this year. It will continue for as long as Auburn lives."
Like Johnson said, there will be another great running back that one days fill his shoes. That's how it works at Auburn. But the former backs, the ones who started and carried on the legacy, still understand and appreciate what it meant to run the ball for the Tigers.
Joe Cribbs (1976-79): "It's meaningful. Some of that, I'm kind of proud of. To be the first to garner national recognition at the position. But I'm also proud of the fact that a lot of those guys that followed me decided to come to Auburn because of some of the things that I had accomplished there. We talk about great running backs at Auburn and who is the best. It's always debatable. But the fact of the matter is if you look at each guy, each guy brought something different and something special."
Stephen Davis (1993-95): "When I was being recruited by Auburn, that was one of the things that really got me to go to Auburn. With Bo Jackson, Joe Cribbs, Lionel James, all those type of guys -- just the tradition they had there before I went there, it was great. I was sold on that. To have an opportunity to go down there and to be a part of that legacy, it was one of the greatest feelings as a college athlete that I could have."
Rudi Johnson (2000): "Whenever you come there, you already know what's to be expected of you and whose footsteps you're following. When I came, I knew the tradition and all the great running backs that came before me. I wanted to have my name right up there with the best of them. Knowing that, it means the world to any running back coming to Auburn -- just knowing your tradition, knowing your history and knowing the sacrifices that the guy made at that particular position. The list goes on and on. We take great pride in that."
Ronnie Brown (2000-2004): "It's a rich tradition. I think we understood that when Cadillac and myself were at Auburn, and what it meant in terms of being a running back at Auburn University. To have that tutelage and that history at running back, it means a lot to be able to represent what came before and what's come after us. That's big for Auburn University itself -- one in recruiting, but two, just having guys understand that and not forget about the guys that paved the way. It was big for me to be able to represent that and be a part of it."
Carnell Williams (2001-2004): "Of course, I'm biased. I went there. I played the running back position. But I think you can stack our running backs against any other college in the country. You've got the guys that paved the way like the Bo Jacksons, the Joe Cribbs, those guys who were trailblazers for some of the modern guys now like the Kerryons, the Tre Masons, the Peyton Barbers. It's a long line of Auburn backs that have done an outstanding job. I think whenever you're a running back you know with such rich tradition the schools has, it only motivates you that much more to get in those record books and join that fraternity."
Kenny Irons (2005-2006): "It means a lot because you think about a lot of the times the guys that have come in after a great running back and the shoes you have to fill and being able to step foot in those shoes and live up to a standard. With me and my time, knowing that this history of running backs is so prestigious -- having Joe Cribbs and Bo Jackson and being able to learn from Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown and watching those guys in 2004 when I had to sit out -- it was like, `Wow, how can I live up to that?' With me putting on that No. 23 jersey, `Yo Kenny, can you live up to Ronnie Brown's standard?' It means a lot being in that backfield and being a part of something special."
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf