Right when it doesn’t seem like it could get any crazier at Auburn, things find a way.

On Thursday night, AL.com released an inside look into how badly Auburn “botched” running back Asa Martin’s freshman season, in which he received minimal playing time but cannot redshirt because he appeared in more than four games.

Martin’s mother, Sharay Harris, told AL.com that she and Martin’s father, Rakesk, spoke to then Auburn offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey about “preserving his option to redshirt” just prior to Martin playing in his fifth game. According to Harris, Lindsey told her Martin would play against Mississippi State (the fifth game of the season) and would be a major offensive factor in the final two months of the season.

Martin did play, but he saw limited action. Under NCAA rules, he could have redshirted if he played in four games or fewer, but after his fifth appearance, redshirting was no longer an option.

However, the Auburn staff may have lost track of how many games Martin played.

“After the Mississippi State game is when another assistant coach said that he wanted to redshirt Asa,” Harris said according to AL.com. “At this point, he had played five games.”

“… I’m just blown away, because Asa and I and his dad already knew that Asa’s redshirt had already been burned in the Mississippi State game.”

Martin recorded 57 rushing yards on 13 attempts. Next year, he will be a sophomore, but he could have easily redshirted with the same amount of carries if not spread out over more than four games.

If any of what Harris says is true, what a terrible look for Auburn. Not only did they do the kid no favors, Martin was one of Auburn’s top recruits in the 2018 class. And the Tigers burned his first year of eligibility for no good reason.

It’s going to be a long offseason for Gus Malzahn.