Auburn’s read-option play in 2013 was one of the most effective calls in college football in the last several years.

Former and future defensive back Nick Marshall (1,068 yards) and running back Tre Mason (1,816 yards) combined for 35 rushing touchdowns as the Tigers came within minutes of a BCS National Championship.

The Tigers made it difficult on bulky outside linebackers and defensive ends: Should they seal the edge? Tackle the quarterback? Assume Marshall was going to give up the ball?

But there was one major tell. Find No. 35. It wasn’t perfect, but if you assumed that the football would follow Jay Prosch, you were usually right.

That didn’t mean that you could stop him or the Auburn offense.

The 6-foot-1, 256-pound Prosch came at you from a variety of angles, often disguising his target until he’d turn at the last second and seal off a linebacker with a punishing blow to the chest. He could lead Mason through the “A gap” or turn wide and get to the second level.

That year, Auburn led the nation with 328 rushing yards per game in part because of the transfer from Illinois.

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Prosch is now a fullback for the Houston Texans, rattling the bones of NFL linebackers and quietly earning a sterling reputation. In his absence, the Tigers have rushed for 255 and 196 yards per game, a steady decline of what once was an intimidating show of offense.

Much has been made about JUCO transfer quarterback John Franklin III, who shares some physical similarities with Marshall. Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn already has described Franklin’s running ability as including a “wow factor.”

Another JUCO transfer, Jovon Robinson, closed the season strong, overtaking 1,000-yard back Peyton Barber to rush for at least 90 yards in five of the team’s last six games. Tigers fans have to be thrilled at the prospect of a full season with Robinson as the go-to ball-carrier.

But finding Jay Prosch 2.0, or at least an H-back to play that role, may be at least as important if Malzahn and Auburn are to recapture the frustrating hurry-up, no-huddle offense predicated on a powerful read-option.

In 2014, Auburn used 6-foot-5, 264-pound tight end C.J. Uzomah as more of a hybrid player. He and fellow tight end Brandon Fulse worked at the H-back position during spring practice, but never replicated the effectiveness of Prosch. The Tigers utilized Uzomah more in the passing game than as a lead blocker.

Last year, the team moved redshirt freshman Kamryn Pettway, an oversized running back, to the position. Essentially a less-athletic Derrick Henry, Pettway is listed as 6-foot and 242 pounds. But Auburn also signed fullback Chandler Cox specifically to groom him as a potential Prosch reincarnation.

Cox insists the two H-backs are much more accustomed to the offense and the demands of the position after last season.

“I felt like a totally different person,” Cox said, according to AL.com. “That’s what I learned. It took time, it was frustrating, it was stressful. I’ve got a few gray hairs already but it’s OK. Each week at a time, just to better myself in the film room and out on the field and practice.”

An early enrollee last January, Auburn listed Cox at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds. That’s 51 pounds lighter than Prosch when he left. But despite losing weight after getting his wisdom teeth removed recently, Cox anticipates playing this fall at 240 pounds, according to AL.com.

While he may not be the bulky hammerhead that Prosch was, there’s a chance that Cox could be an even more versatile player. Prosch caught five passes and did not run the ball a single time in ’13, his final college season. Cox caught three passes as a true freshman in 2015.

Cox and Pettway don’t have to be exact replicas of Prosch, nor does Auburn have to lead the nation in rushing to field an effective offense. However the position evolves, getting renewed production from the team’s H-back would help either Franklin or Jeremy Johnson at quarterback and Robinson at running back.

As of now, Pettway is practicing as the team’s short-yardage back, and seems excited at the possibility of occasionally carrying the football.

“The big thing about Pettway is, he’ll blow somebody up,” guard Alex Kozan told AL.com. “To have that kind of physicality at running back is huge, especially since Peyton (Barber) declared. We wish him the best, but we lost a little bit there because Peyton was our short-yardage back, getting those tough yards. I have faith in Pettway that he can get that done.”

We may never see another Prosch within the Malzahn offense. But by maximizing the strengths of Cox and Pettway, Auburn can add a new wrinkle to what is potentially a more versatile version of the offense in 2016.