Observations: What we saw and heard at the fifth practice of Auburn fall camp

Jarquez Hunter is back at practice, and the Tigers did a good amount of mixing and matching on both sides of the ball Tuesday.

RB Jarquez Hunter (Austin Perryman/Auburn Athletics)

After not being on the field during the first two open viewing windows of Auburn football fall camp — last Thursday and Friday — Jarquez Hunter was practicing Tuesday morning.

The projected starting Auburn running back was involved in social media allegations and a university investigation back in May, and head coach Hugh Freeze declined to comment on his status multiple times in the summer.

But Hunter appears to be back in the fold for the Tigers, who open their 2023 season in less than a month.

Hunter lined up as a first-team running back next to returning starting quarterback Robby Ashford during a 11-man offensive drill in the indoor facility Tuesday.

Hunter’s return was a major highlight in what was a loaded fifth day of practice for the Tigers. Media members were allowed to watch around 40 minutes, which included several waves of offense, extended special teams work and some individual unit drills. Here’s what we saw and heard at the facility.

QB Robby Ashford and OL Jeremiah Wright (Austin Perryman/Auburn Athletics)

Plenty of cross-training and different looks on offense

As we’ve seen in the first couple of viewing windows, the offense ran through a series of plays against air in a full, 11-man look Tuesday.

This time was even more notable than the first two for the amount of rotation going on at certain positions — including some offensive linemen lining up at multiple spots — and a couple of major tweaks in the order.

Freeze said he wanted to start tightening reps at quarterback after the first five practices. Tuesday marked practice No. 5, so it was interesting to see Ashford lining up with the starters for the first time in fall camp, followed by Payton Thorne, Holden Geriner and Hank Brown.

We were able to see five different rounds of this drill, and several players took the field on multiple occasions. Here’s how it all broke down: