Auburn top running back has returned.
Star running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] started the game for the Tigers and didn’t have to wait long for his first carry of the season. He ran the ball on Auburn’s first two plays, gaining six yards.
Hunter did not play in last week’s game against UMass after taking part in Tiger Walk but took the field in street clothes during warm-ups. [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and Auburn have not provided a reason for his absence but he was linked to an investigation by Auburn University over the summer.
It was not the debut that Hunter or Auburn were hoping for, he finished the first half with five carries for just 12 yards.
Freeze was asked after the game about when he knew Hunter would return and said he “can’t discuss the process.”
He added that he was “Excited to have him back. Thought he looked rusty, though.”
Hunter looked a little better in the second half, ripping off a 19-yard run in the fourth quarter that was Auburn’s longest rush of the game. Disaster struck a play later when he fumbled the ball away, giving Cal the ball at Auburn’s 41 with the Tigers clinging to a 14-10 lead with just 4 minutes to play.
The defense was once again able to erase the mistake, picking off Sam Jackson V in the endzone, giving Auburn a chance to run the clock out.
Hunter finished the day with 53 yards on 11 carries and the fumble. Auburn’s running backs averaged 5.7 yards per carry but their two fumbles were critical mistakes that will have to be cleaned up.
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