It was a battle between the freshman phenoms for Plainsman’s Choice Best Male Athlete.
Sharife Cooper, who made his debut for Auburn men’s basketball against Alabama and instantly changed the landscape of the team or Tank Bigsby, who quickly became one of the top running backs in college football.
Ultimately, Bigsby came out on top. It’s not hard to see why.
Bigsby finished the season with 138 rushing attempts for 834 yards — good for six yards per carry — 11 receptions for 84 yards and five rushing touchdowns.
What makes the feat more impressive is the timeline he did it in. Bigsby received minimal playing time in the season opener, carrying the ball just six times for 15 yards. In the second game of the season against Georgia, Auburn began to roll with Bigsby a little more. He carried it eight times for 31 yards.
But from that point on, it was the Bigsby show. Against Arkansas Bigbsy had his coming out party, carrying the ball 20 times for 146 yards.
Bigsby continued that blistering stretch until getting injured in the Tennessee game. The hip injury he suffered forced him to be limited against Alabama before returning against Texas A&M and then having his biggest game of the season against Mississippi State.
Taking out the 15 rushing yards against Kentucky, 31 against Georgia, 24 against Tennessee and 39 against Alabama, Bigbsy ran for 725 yards in six games. Averaging over 120 yards per game.
For his freshman year performance he was named co-SEC Freshman of the Year and to the Freshman All-SEC team.
Now, heading into his sophomore season, Bigsby is ready for an even better encore.
New head coach Bryan Harsin has seen Bigsby become a leader during winter workouts and shine in spring practice, specifically naming him as someone who’s stood out early.
As for Bigsby, he’s just focused on being the best Tank Bigsby he can be.
“I just let my actions speak for itself. I just let the media talk for itself. I feel like if I keep doing what I’m doing and keep my head straight, I’ll get there,” Bigsby said about becoming one of the next great Auburn running backs.
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