aubiefifty 16,695 Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 scout.com Jason Caldwell's Monday Morning QB Column Coming into preseason camp true freshman Harold Joiner was thought of as more of a tight end/wide receiver in Auburn’s offense and by the time the dust settles on his playing days for the football Tigers that could still be the case, but the last two scrimmages have shown that Joiner is worth taking a longer look at as a running back. One of the question marks about Joiner coming out of Mountain Brook High was about his toughness. Playing running back in the SEC isn’t for the faint of heart, but Joiner has gotten double-digit carries in each of the last two scrimmages and has shown he is not afraid to run between the tackles. No matter where he winds up, showing his physical side is a great sign for Joiner as he continues to get bigger and stronger in his time at Auburn. This preseason camp has been highlighted by the number of true freshmen who have been singled out for their performances by Gus Malzahn, the rest of the coaching staff as well as many of the players. While it’s not unusual for a few guys to receive early attention, as many as a dozen of the newcomers have been given props for the Tigers, which bodes well for the future. Some will get an opportunity to help out early on offense and defense, but there is no question that many will play a significant role on special teams in 2018. You can just about pencil in buck Richard Jibunor as someone who will be on coverage teams because of his speed and energy on the field. Linebacker Zakoby McClain should be another one along with a guy like cornerback Roger McCreary. In the return game you could see cornerback Christian Tutt or wide receiver Matthew Hill back on punts before the season is done with Hill one of the top guys returning kickoffs along with fellow freshmen Shaun Shivers, a running back, and wide receiver Anthony Schwartz. It could be a banner year for freshmen getting significant action for the Tigers. That is what the game is turning towards with fewer and fewer players redshirting, but now with guys capable of redshirting while still playing four games it opens up the possibility of seeing a big number of newcomers in action. Auburn doesn’t open its season until Sept. 1, but this Saturday will be a huge kickoff to the high school football season in the state with a pair of games at the Hoover Met featuring three current AU commitments and another top target in action. Opening the action is a showdown between 7A champ Hoover and 6A champ Pinson Valley with wide receiver George Pickens and quarterback Bo Nix on opposing teams. Two of the top players on the board for 2019, Pickens and Nix played with each other on Cam Newton’s 7-on-7 team this summer, but now the AU commitments will go against each other in one of the top games of the year in Alabama. There are several other prospects to watch in the game as well including Hoover running back Larry McCammon and 2020 Hoover QB Robby Ashford. Game two features Hewitt-Trussville and wide receiver commitment Ja'Varrius Johnson going against Auburn wide receiver target and Georgia commitment Jadon Haselwood, who plays at Cedar Grove (Ga.) High. It’s not often that you get to see so many quality players in action on the same day and I can’t wait to kick it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc4aday 1,887 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 I know many think that Harold Joiner will not see time as a RB, but who knows? Having a 6-4 225 lb RB with speed and muscle could turn out to be something special in our backfield. A back named Brandon Jacobs in the early 2000s comes to mind. He was about the same size as Joiner. Jacobs had his moments at Auburn. HJ may never be a RB at Auburn, but then again who knows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AU64 10,122 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 2 minutes ago, doc4aday said: I know many think that Harold Joiner will not see time as a RB, but who knows? Having a 6-4 225 lb RB with speed and muscle could turn out to be something special in our backfield. A back named Brandon Jacobs in the early 2000s comes to mind. He was about the same size as Joiner. Jacobs had his moments at Auburn. HJ may never be a RB at Auburn, but then again who knows? Derrick Henry was about the same size at bama and caused lots of people headaches.. I see no drawback to having a guy his size in our backfield when we need a few critical yards....JMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddc 13,194 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 25 minutes ago, doc4aday said: I know many think that Harold Joiner will not see time as a RB, but who knows? Having a 6-4 225 lb RB with speed and muscle could turn out to be something special in our backfield. A back named Brandon Jacobs in the early 2000s comes to mind. He was about the same size as Joiner. Jacobs had his moments at Auburn. HJ may never be a RB at Auburn, but then again who knows? I’ve thought from day one Harold Joiner had more to him than some gave him credit for. We’ll have to wait and see, but I’ve got a feeling he might turn into a special running back/ receiver at Auburn before his time is up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triangletiger 1,599 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 27 minutes ago, doc4aday said: I know many think that Harold Joiner will not see time as a RB, but who knows? Having a 6-4 225 lb RB with speed and muscle could turn out to be something special in our backfield. A back named Brandon Jacobs in the early 2000s comes to mind. He was about the same size as Joiner. Jacobs had his moments at Auburn. HJ may never be a RB at Auburn, but then again who knows? Brandon Jacobs also had a solid career as a RB in the NFL, too. I’m not sure how Joiner compares to Jacobs in areas other than size (e.g., running style, speed, etc.), but He could do a lot worse than to follow in Brandon Jacobs’ footsteps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustache eagle 2,388 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 48 minutes ago, toddc said: I’ve thought from day one Harold Joiner had more to him than some gave him credit for. We’ll have to wait and see, but I’ve got a feeling he might turn into a special running back/ receiver at Auburn before his time is up. He may be physical in the future but he wasn’t last year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddc 13,194 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 6 minutes ago, mustache eagle said: He may be physical in the future but he wasn’t last year He was doing something right to be a top 10 running back coming out of high school! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustache eagle 2,388 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 1 minute ago, toddc said: He was doing something right to be a top 10 running back coming out of high school! He’s a great athlete saw a Instagram video of him running an in route - did a back flip while running forward and caught the soft pass i was impressed. He has skills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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