AUBURN, Alabama — JaTarvious Whitlow time has arrived.From a small-town high school quarterback to running back in the SEC, the LaFayette native is set to make a big splash at Auburn, one way or another.Whitlow, who teammates call "Boobee," debuted Tuesday as the top backup at running back behind Kam Martin and as one of the top two kick returners on the Auburn depth chart. Not bad for a player who has played receiver, quarterback and running back during his career, and seems to finally be settling in as a downhill runner at running back for the Tigers."Boobee’s so much different from last year," quarterback Jarrett Stidham said. "He’s grown up a lot – still has some growing up to do, just like any young football player, but he is an extreme talent, can do a lot of things with the ball in his hand. I’m really looking forward to seeing how he plays."Kam Martin was named the starter at running back Tuesday, but his lack of size (5-foot-10, 193 pounds) provides concerns for the Tigers. Running backs coach Tim Horton said earlier in preseason camp they hope to limit Martin to 16 to 18 carries per game, which leaves the door open for a bigger running back such as Whitlow (6-0, 216) to pick up quite a few carries in the season opener Saturday against No. 6 Washington."The thing that stood out about Boobee to me is just his mental drive, his toughness, his want to," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "The moment’s not too big for him. For freshmen, that’s what you worry about. But he plays with an edge. He practices with an edge. He’s one of the guys that has the respect of his teammates because of that. That had a lot to do with him being in the position where he’s at."Whitlow is also listed as the co-starter on kick return next to Noah Igbinoghene. Whitlow effectively replaces Martin at the kick returner position, an interesting move for the Tigers entering the season.Whitlow combined for more than 4,400 yards of offense while scoring 59 touchdowns during his senior season playing quarterback at nearby LaFayette High, a Class 2A high school. He sat out his freshman season at Auburn, with many expecting the 6-footer to play receiver. He instead moved to running back and has gained 11 pounds to bulk up to 216 ahead of preseason camp and his redshirt freshman season.Horton had two concerns for Whitlow in preseason camp: pass protection and running north and south instead of east and west, like he was accustomed to doing while out-running opponents on the small school level."I know that coach Horton is not going to put a guy out there that he doesn't have the confidence that can protect also," Malzahn said. "All three guys or all four guys that we talked about earlier, those are guys that he has confidence in to do both.""Whitlow enjoys that part of the game a lot," Horton said. "He loves that part of the game and he’s probably been, from a physical standpoint, he’s been the best one we’ve had.
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