The emergence and subsequent ascent of Kamryn Pettway to virtual stardom has been rapid and furious. It’s come as a surprise to many, but not to the one guy who’s helped mold the SEC’s leading rusher into what he is today — his coach.
“(Running backs coach) Tim (Horton) told me, maybe it was midway through the spring or after the spring, he said — we call him Bubba, maybe we’re supposed to call him bruiser now, I’m not sure — but he said he’s going to be just fine,” said offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee. “He said he’s going to be really good.
“Well, Tim knows what he’s talking about, but he really hadn’t done a lot. And I don’t think Tim or any of us knew he’d get on this tear.”
That tear has been otherwordly. In three straight games now, all of which were against SEC opponents, Pettway has eclipsed 150 rushing yards. Mississippi State didn’t have an answer. Arkansas was basically a revolving door, and Pettway tore through Ole Miss like a ravenous werewolf.
His 236 yards were the 10th-most in Auburn history, and his mauling of the Rebels vaulted him to the top of the SEC’s rushing leaderboard. He currently has 933 yards, and that’s without seeing a single snap against Clemson in the season opener. Unless something drastically changes, Pettway will become Auburn’s eighth consecutive 1000-yard rusher sometime soon.
“He’s just done a good job of going downhill,” Lashlee said. “He’d be the first to tell you it’s because his guys up front are blocking well for him … We’re obviously really fortunate that he’s running the ball like he is.”
Up next for Pettway and Auburn’s fourth-ranked rushing attack is a Vanderbilt defense that gives up 157.6 rushing yards per game. It’s not as porous as Ole Miss’ defense was, but it’s only one spot below Mississippi State, which Pettway ran over to the tune of 169 yards on 39 blistering carries.
“What they've done on defense this year has been really good,” Lashlee said. “There's not a lot of people scoring a lot of points on them. It'll be a pretty good challenge for us. I haven't watched a ton of them yet just because of where we are in the process.
“I'll get started with that right after this, but they're going to be pretty good on defense. That's what they do."
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