The Auburn Tigers will be without leading rusher JaTarvious Whitlow for four-to-six weeks after he underwent knee surgery on Tuesday, head coach Gus Malzahn announced.
Whitlow, a redshirt sophomore, was injured late in the game during the Tigers’ 24-13 loss to No. 7 Florida on Saturday. With 544 rushing yards this season, he ranks second in the SEC, and has a conference-leading seven rushing touchdowns. With 110 attempts, his rushing average is 4.9 yards per carry.
The SEC All-Freshman selection a year ago rushed for 787 yards on 150 attempts (a 5.2-yard average) and six touchdowns, and also made two touchdown catches.
No. 12 Auburn (5-1) doesn’t return to action until a road game against Arkansas (2-3) on Oct. 19.
While the back from Lafayette, Ala., could possibly return for three games to wrap up the regular season — including key SEC contests at home against No. 3 Georgia (Nov. 16) and No. 1 Alabama (Nov. 30) — the Tigers plan to rely on Kam Martin, Shaun Shivers and D.J. Williams in the backfield for now.
