Why Auburn Starting RB Roc Thomas Will Explode in 2015
Another one bites the dust.
Game week has answered several lingering questions around the SEC, including ones surrounding quarterbacks at LSU, Georgia and Ole Miss.
Despite losing two-year starter Nick Marshall, Auburn didn't have that question hanging over its head. Head coach Gus Malzahn tabbed junior Jeremy Johnson as his No. 1 signal-caller shortly after spring practice.
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Now we know who's going to be lining up behind (or alongside) him.
Auburn released its depth chart for the first week of the season via email, and the three-man running back battle taking place this fall among junior Jovon Robinson and sophomores Peyton Barber and Roc Thomas appears to be down to one.
With Thomas as the No. 1 and Barber and Robinson bracketed with "or," it's a clear indication that Malzahn and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee have faith that their 5'10", 203-pound sophomore is ready for the big time.
Get ready for Thomas to become a star, because he's in the perfect place for instant success on the Plains
True All-Purpose Back
If you're looking for a home run hitter, Thomas is it.
He was "Mr. Football" in the state of Alabama in 2013 and was a 5-star prospect in the class of 2014 out of Oxford (Alabama) High School. He rushed for an eye-popping 5,515 yards and 76 touchdowns in three high school seasons and has the potential to be one of the most electric running backs in college football.
Johnson is excited about what Thomas is bringing to the table, according to Tom Green of the Opelika-Auburn News.
That's not good enough to be Auburn's feature back, though.
Former Tigers Tre Mason and Cameron Artis-Payne each led the SEC in rushing attempts in 2013 and 2014, respectively. For Auburn to operate at the tempo that Malzahn likes, he needs to find a running back who can do everything and prevent the staff from substituting within drives.
Thomas ran much more north/south in the spring game than he did during his freshman season, and according to Lashlee, has improved as a pass-blocker as well.
"Hopefully, having more weight will help keep him healthy through the season," Lashlee said last month according to Charles Goldberg of AuburnTigers.com. "He's not small—he's over 200 pounds, 5"11"—and 200-something pounds is a good sized back. Some guys that run hard and violent and with a lot of cutting like him sometimes you’re more concerned about them with durability.
"I think that's No. 1 thing we're most excited about. We hope that will help keep him healthy. And two, it has probably given him confidence to be tougher. He's been tough all fall camp. He's been great in pass protection. He's been great in short yardage situations. He's really grown up so far in practice from where he was in the spring."
Is he the same kind of back as Mason and Artis-Payne were for Malzahn?
No, of course not. But he has the burst to be a superstar, can do some of the things they thrived doing for their Tiger teams and has clearly won over a staff that knows a thing or two (or 12) about running backs.
The Perfect System
Malzahn gets pegged as a spread guru and perhaps labeled as gimmicky at times. Make no mistake, though, at his core, Malzahn is a two-back, power coach who operates out of the spread with tempo.
Over Malzahn's nine seasons as a college head or assistant coach, he's produced 12 1,000-yard rushers during stints at Arkansas, Tulsa, Auburn and Arkansas State.
| 2006 | Arkansas | Darren McFadden | 1,647 |
| 2006 | Arkansas | Felix Jones | 1,168 |
| 2007 | Tulsa | Tarrion Adams | 1,225 |
| 2008 | Tulsa | Tarrion Adams | 1,523 |
| 2009 | Auburn | Ben Tate | 1,362 |
| 2010 | Auburn | Cam Newton | 1,473 |
| 2010 | Auburn | Michael Dyer | 1,093 |
| 2011 | Auburn | Michael Dyer | 1,242 |
| 2012 | Arkansas State | David Oku | 1,061 |
| 2013 | Auburn | Tre Mason | 1,816 |
| 2013 | Auburn | Nick Marshall | 1,068 |
| 2014 | Auburn | Cameron Artis-Payne | 1,608 |
There's no shortage of talent on the Plains. Thomas has a ton of hype, Robinson set the junior college rushing record in 2013 with 2,387 yards, according to his Auburn bio, and freshman Kerryon Johnson is carrying virtually the same hype to the Plains as Thomas did a year ago including the "Mr. Football" title.
Despite that dangerous backfield, Thomas has emerged as the starter despite only limited game action in college.
But wait, isn't Auburn going to be more balanced this year thanks to new starting quarterback Jeremy Johnson?
Balance is the wrong word. As my colleague Michael Felder noted in our Auburn preview video below, it's not going to be different, it's going to be better and more complete.
Don't forget, Malzahn became the first offensive coordinator in FBS history to produce a 5,000-yard passer (Paul Smith, 5,065), 1,000-yard rusher (Tarrion Adams, 1,225) and three, 1,000-yard receivers (Brennan Marion, 1,244; Trae Johnson, 1,088; Charles Clay, 1,024) in the same season when he did it at Tulsa in 2007.
The running game won't be diminished by a more complete attack, the Auburn offense as a whole will simply be better.
Let's Get Creative
Thomas is an all-around back and will get the first snaps, but neither a preseason depth chart nor a game-week press conference can properly indicate just how players are going to be used.
Expect Thomas to get plenty of looks not just as a running back out of the backfield, but as a receiver/safety valve for Johnson and in the speed sweep role splitting time with wide receiver Ricardo Louis.
While he has evolved into a true all-purpose back, his ability to move in tight spaces will be a huge benefit to Auburn on screen passes and in traffic off the edge. In the spring game highlights above, you see just how dangerous he is in space including at the 0:09 mark, when he stumbles, regains his feet, cuts outside, jukes one defender and takes it to the house.
That ability to be a home run threat, when combined with the creative ways Malzahn and Lashlee get the ball in the hands of playmakers in space, should vault Thomas into stardom in 2015.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93 XM 208. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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