AUBURN, Ala. – During Saturday's 62-0 win over Alabama State, Auburn cornerback Roger McCreary told his teammates that freshman running back Jarquez Hunter was going to score before it was over. Head coach Bryan Harsin knew it as soon as Hunter took the handoff from inside his own 10-yard line and hit the hole.
"When he popped on the (6-yard line), no one was going to catch him," Harsin said.
Hunter didn't know for sure until he crossed the goal line 94 yards later. It was late in the third quarter. He took the first-down handoff going to his right, cut back left through a hole, and he was gone. Not knowing if any defender was close, he just ran as fast as he could and never looked back. No need. No player came within 10 yards of him.
From the time Hunter secured the ball to the time he reached the end zone; it took a total of 10 seconds. Ninety-four yards in 10 seconds, and he wasn't even tired.
"I had a lot of adrenaline," he said. "I was very excited that I scored. That was going to be my last drive, so I had to get that one."
"Jarquez just keeps surprising people, and he just continues to run the ball very hard," quarterback Bo Nix said. "He's very fast, more explosive than people give him credit for."
At the time, Hunter had no idea his name would live in Auburn lore forever. His touchdown run of 94 yards was longer than any run Bo Jackson ever had. It was longer than any run from Joe Cribbs or Ronnie Brown or Carnell "Cadillac" Williams or Tre Mason. It was the longest run in Auburn history, surpassing Ralph O'Gwynee (92 yards vs. Loyola in 1936).
"I didn't know it until everybody started telling me I broke it," Hunter said after the game.
The freshman finished with a team-best 147 rushing yards on eight carries Saturday and was given the game ball in the locker room following the victory.
"What I love about Jarquez is even in that moment in the locker room, he appreciates it," Harsin said. "His teammates appreciate him. He's a pretty humble guy. I think for him it's just a matter of 'How do I continue to keep getting better?' Because I think he really likes being out there on the field. I know he loves the game of football. You can feel that from him."
Hunter's 147-yard performance comes a week after he rushed for 110 yards in his Auburn debut. He now has 257 through his first two games, averaging over 15 yards per carry, and he's the first Auburn freshman to open the season with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games since Onterio McCalebb did it in 2009 against Louisiana Tech and Mississippi State.
That's not to say Hunter is going to supplant Tank Bigsby as the starter any time soon. Bigsby, the SEC Freshman of the Year last year, has also gone over 100 yards in each of Auburn's first two games, including a 122-yard effort against Alabama State.
But the emergence of Hunter will only help Bigsby and the Auburn offense as a whole.
"In the future, I'm looking forward to seeing those guys continue to build upon each other and develop because both of them are still young," Nix said. "We think Tank is a veteran, and he's a sophom*ore. He's continuing to develop and grow into that leader that we need Tank to be. And then Jarquez is just following in his footsteps."
Between Bigsby, Shaun Shivers, who was unavailable Saturday, and now Hunter, the Tigers can boast one of the deeper and more talented running back rooms in the SEC.
"As we put a team together, you've got to have depth," Harsin said. "And you like that depth to be competitive, so that when guys get in there – if it's Tank getting a big run, if it's Jarquez getting a big play, if it's Sean Jackson down there on the goal line just barreling his way into the end zone – all those things are key components to our team having success."
Even Hunter didn't expect a start quite like this, but it's already on to the next game.
"I never thought I'd have back-to-back 100-yard games," he said. "I've been doing all right so far. I just have to get better each week, every game."
