After his return from knee surgery, could a sophomore surge be in the cards for Jarquez Hunter?
Auburn's RB2 missed spring practice for some important "clean up" on his knee. Now that he's 100% for this summer, it's time to buy more stock in the workout warrior.
RB Jarquez Hunter (Todd Van Emst/Auburn Athletics)
A picture of a weed eater told Bryan Harsin everything he needed to know.
Early in spring practices, Harsin announced that Jarquez Hunter — Auburn’s No. 2 running back — would be out eight to 10 weeks after undergoing “cleanup” surgery on his knee. Hunter, a rising sophomore, was unable to go through preseason work as the Tigers focused their efforts behind Tank Bigsby on new scholarship addition Sean Jackson and reserve Jordon Ingram.
Recently, when asked about Hunter’s status following that surgery, Harsin smiled and said the timeline held true. There was even a photo of Hunter doing work on the farm back home in Mississippi to prove it.
“He’s doing great. He’s actually in school here in the early session now, so he’s back,” Harsin said last week, before the rest of the Tigers arrived for summer workouts. “We expect a full recovery with him. He’ll be good to go in the summer. There’s no doubt with him.”
Few, if any, should be surprised that Hunter made a quick recovery from his knee surgery. Physically, Hunter is special for someone his age — he turned heads in workouts the moment he arrived on campus and gained attention for dunking a basketball in boots that would go well with his Tiger Walk-tested cowboy hat.
“First of all, he’s a tough kid, phenomenally strong,” Harsin said. “That guy can push weight, so we’ll get him back really quickly. And he’s determined. I think the best thing we did was get that cleaned up. He probably could have played through it, and it was the best thing for him to make sure he’s all 100 percent, ready to go in the summer.”