Jarquez Hunter ascends Auburn career rushing ranks

AUBURN, Ala. – Jarquez Hunter wasted no time introducing himself to Auburn fans, rushing for more than 100 yards in each of his first two games as a true freshman in 2021 while producing the longest run in program history, a 94-yard touchdown burst against Alabama State. 

“That’s my favorite run,” said Hunter, three years later. 

In his fourth season, Hunter has compiled nine 100-yard games, including 152 yards against New Mexico this season, his second-highest outing behind a 183-yard performance against Vanderbilt last season. 

Entering Saturday’s showdown with No. 21 Oklahoma, Hunter ranks 12th with 2,512 career rushing yards at Auburn, having already ascended six spots on the rankings in just four games this season. 

Back home in Mississippi over the summer, family members informed Jarquez where he stood and what it would take to join Auburn luminaries such as Ronnie Brown, Tre Mason, Joe Cribbs, James Brooks, former teammate Tank Bigsby and Carnell Williams in the top 10. 

“It would be very exciting if I can get top five,” Hunter said. “I saw where it was Bo Jackson, Cadillac, and some other great running backs who came through here. It would be so exciting if I can get into the top five or top 10 range.”

To overtake Brown for the No. 10 spot, Hunter needs only 196 more rushing yards. To knock Ben Tate out of the top five, Hunter would need to gain 810 more yards this season, on top of the 340 he’s amassed in Auburn’s first four games. 

After rushing for 909 yards a year ago, Hunter entered this season as the SEC’s leading returning rusher. He enters the Oklahoma game ranked second in the conference averaging 7.08 yards per carry and seventh in the SEC averaging 85 rushing yards per game.

Hunter’s academic accomplishments are equally impressive. Frequently taking 18 credit hours even during busy fall semesters, he needed only three years to earn his degree in natural resource management from Auburn University’s College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment. 

“It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t that bad,” he said. “When you have time after football, just look over your notes and your schoolwork, and just get the work done.

“If you do your work, the professors will try to help you understand because they know you have a lot going on, as long as you do your work on time.

“Graduation day, I was proud of myself, and I know my family was proud. Nobody can take that away from me. I’ve got an Auburn degree.”

A lifelong outdoors enthusiast from Philadelphia, Mississippi, Hunter has yet to decide which career to pursue after professional football, but it likely will not be behind a desk.

“Ever since I was little, I would always be outside,” he said. “Playing or helping my grandma work around the house. Outside, always doing something.”

Hunter will have an opportunity to display his skills to a national television audience on ABC as well as a sold-out crowd of 88,043 Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium when the Tigers welcome the Sooners for their first visit to Auburn.

“Another game we’ve got to win,” Hunter said. “We’ve got to showcase for the people watching and tell people we can do this; we can beat people.”

Hunter’s 93 touchdowns at Neshoba Central High School broke the school record set four decades earlier by Marcus Dupree, who would go on to an All-America freshman season at Oklahoma.  Hunter has continued to reach the end zone at Auburn, rushing for 19 career touchdowns while adding four touchdown receptions. 

After 400 career rushes on the Plains, Hunter has learned the importance of the training room.

“The main part of this game is you’ve got to take care of your body,” Hunter said. “Younger players think they can just go out there and play forever and their body won’t hurt, but your body is going to start hurting eventually. You’ve really got to take care of your body and find every way to stay healthy. 

“For me, I like to practice hard. If you practice hard, you play hard. If you make practice hard, then the game will seem easy. I try to lead the younger guys by example and show them how hard I practice. If you practice hard, it will show up in the game and you’ll have a good game.”

With his cowboy hat during Tiger Walk, his loyalty to Auburn and his elite performance, Hunter has become a fan favorite.

“To this day, Auburn fits in great with what I thought it could be,” he said. “I’ve met a lot of awesome people and made a lot of great relationships – everywhere you go it feels like family. Everybody welcomes you in. I got a chance to finish my degree in three years – I got a great degree from Auburn and that will take me a long way other than just playing football. It’s been awesome here at Auburn. It feels like family every time I walk through campus.”

With eight games left in his senior season, Jarquez Hunter continues to cement his legacy as one of Auburn’s best running backs, a massive achievement at a school that can make a compelling case for being known as “RBU.”

“For me, I’ll try to be a great teammate,” Hunter said. “I’ll try to be a leader to the team and try to push everybody as much as I push myself. I know I’m going to go hard every day for my teammates, and I want them to do the same thing for me or other people beside them on the field. This is my last year and I plan to go out and play for one another, go out there and have a special year with my brothers.

“I want my teammates to say Jarquez gave his all every time he was at practice and in a game or in workouts. I want them to say he was a great person to be around every day, and he gave it his all.”

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