Auburn's Running Back Position Should be the Strongest on Offense

(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Running the football is rarely a problem at Auburn. 

Auburn's running back position should be the strongest point on the offense this year. One reason for that is the amount of talent currently at the position. 

Ben Tate is in his senior year and hopes to get over 1,000 yards this season. Last season he was about 400 yards short.

The offense wasn't in his favor as most of his runs were east/west. This year in Gus Malzhan's system, Tate will have more chances for north/south runs, which is Tate's specialty. Tate is mostly known for his power, but he has good speed also.

Mario Fannin will also be getting some action out of the backfield, and out of other positions. 

Fannin hasn't really had a lot of time in the backfield. Last year he was moved to receiver for most of the season, and this year he will be pretty much everywhere on the offense.

Fannin has a lot of power to break tackles and has pretty good speed as well.

Onterrio McCalebb will probably see a lot of playing time this year. He's not an every down back yet, but he as the ability to make big plays.

He is one of the fastest players on the team as well. McCalebb got the attention of a lot of Auburn fans when he broke for a 70-yard touchdown untouched.

Overall, Gus Malzhan's offense will be focused on running the football.

Auburn has the chance to be really successful this year in that area, especially if the offensive line stays healthy. If that happens this offense could give opposing defenses fits on the ground.

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