Deuce Knight scores 75-yard rushing TD on opening play of his first career start
Published:
Deuce Knight said the best hello to Auburn fans that they could’ve ever dreamed of on Saturday afternoon.
The freshman left-handed quarterback was making his first career start against Mercer in front of a crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium that might have been going through the motions a bit considering it was a nonconference game and considering Auburn’s 4-6 record this season.
Well, that probably didn’t last too long for the home crowd, because all Knight did on the very first snap of the game was drop back, survey the scene, find nobody in particular open and take off. He took off, alright. Knight carved through the Bears defense and took off down the right sideline for a 75-yard touchdown run that gave the Tigers a very early 7-0 lead.
Exactly 15 seconds had elapsed in the game after Knight made his electrifying run to tell that home crowd that he was the new man in charge of the Auburn offense.
Knight might have to pull off a few more of those highlight-reel plays on Saturday, because after his touchdown all Mercer did was respond with 2 touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead.
The 9-1 Bears lead the Southern Conference this season, so they’re no joke for Auburn in the Week 13 nonconference game. Perhaps Knight can do something about that first-quarter deficit and lead the Tigers to victory in his first career start.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
