The Auburn Tigers have gotten some great production out of Kerryon Johnson and Kamryn Pettway the past two years, but now both talented running backs are off to the NFL.

That leaves Kam Martin as the favorite to land the starting job this fall, but the Tigers would like to develop some more depth in the backfield.

According to RB coach Tim Horton, Auburn wants to get away from having a guy like Johnson carrying too much of the load and getting worn down at the end of the season (via OANow.com):

“We’ve had success playing multiple players, but sometimes the cream rises to the top and one just kind of separates themselves,” Horton said. “We want to play more than one guy. But obviously, as the coach, you’ve got to play your best guy, and so hopefully this will be a year we can keep people healthy and play two or three or four guys. I sure hope so.”

Last year, Johnson was in the Heisman hunt, but got hurt late in the year and was a non-factor in the SEC Championship Game. With Martin and others looking to earn playing time this fall, Horton hopes to avoid a similar situation in 2018.

However, if one running back separates himself from the pack, the Tigers have shown they aren’t afraid to ride the hot hand for as long as possible.