Who will take Kerryon Johnson’s place?

That’s been a hot topic of discussion at Auburn the past few months, and especially throughout spring camp.

We might’ve gotten a bit closer to finding out who that’ll be on Thursday.

According to AL.com, Auburn running backs coach Tim Horton gave Kam Martin the early nod:

“If we were to play today it would be Kam Martin,” Horton said Thursday before speaking to the Jackson County Auburn Club in Scottsboro. “He would be the first one to go out on the field. Obviously we don’t play today and so is he going to start against Washington? That kinda remains to be seen but Kam would be first-team if we played today.”

Martin did have a solid spring, and he has the most experience among Auburn’s 5 scholarship running backs. Last year, Martin had 74 carries for 453 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was who Auburn turned to when Johnson was banged up at the end of the season.

Will Martin hold on to his position as the leader in the clubhouse? That remains to be seen.

Horton said that Malik Miller, JaTarvious Whitlow, Asa Martin and Devan Barrett would all be in the mix for No. 2 on the depth chart as of today and that he was “really pleased” with them, according to AL.com.

But on Thursday night, we at least got some clarity who the all-important next man up could be in the Tigers backfield.