Can Auburn and Tank Bigsby establish their inside rushing attack in 2022?

The Tigers have struggled to run block consistently.

Despite Auburn's offensive line having issues run blocking, they've still had Tank Bigsby. The former four-star running back heading into his junior year with a collective 1,933 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns.

While it would be nice to expect that Bigsby is able to continue to build on his game this season, the offensive line may hold him back. In a downhill, between the tackles rushing attack, Tank was forced to bounce plays outside far too often last year. Take a look at these numbers.

Stat of the day

Of Tank Bigsby’s 1,100 rushing yards in 2021, 422 yards (38%) came from outside rushing plays. 

40 carries around left end for 166 yards (4.2 yards), and 54 carries around right end for 256 yards (4.7 yards).

What it means

Auburn's offensive line struggled to establish a consistent push with the interior of their offensive line. This has been a theme for a few seasons now. I'd even argue in 2017, bell cow back Kerryon Johnson had issues running between the tackles and usually had to bounce his runs to the outside.

We've seen Tank Bigsby do a lot of that during his time at Auburn. In 2022, I would expect Bigsby's rushing totals to be similar to those of last year when it comes to outside rushing plays (somewhere between 4.2 and 4.7 YPC). However, I would expect Bigsby to receive a higher percentage of inside carries, with a higher success rate. With the experience the Tigers have up front at guard and center, there's no reason to expect anything but a step forward.

Read yesterday's Stat of the day.

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