Auburn running back Boobee Whitlow has returned to the field much sooner than expected, but in a limited fashion, and that isn’t expected to change this Saturday against Ole Miss.

Whitlow had just three rushing attempts in his return from knee surgery versus LSU last week.

“Boobee (Whitlow) is not 100 percent and he won’t be 100 percent this week,” Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said according to Rivals. “… (Whitlow is) not in the shape that we need. He was on a limited basis by design, and it’ll probably be something like that this week, too.”

Whitlow leads the team with 553 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season. He underwent knee surgery on Oct. 8 but played just 18 days later, missing only one game.

Freshman D.J. Williams did fine filling in for Whitlow despite his return Saturday. Williams rushed for 130 yards on just 10 carries and finished with 151 yards from scrimmage.

Among rushers with at least 10 attempts, Williams leads the Tigers with a 6.8 yards per carry average. He is also third on the team with 210 rushing yards this season.

Auburn will need him and senior Kam Martin to pick up the slack again this week against Ole Miss while Whitlow continues to be limited.