Hot hand emerges in Tigers backfield battle

AUBURN -- The battle among Auburn's two senior running back apparently has a leader.

Cameron Artis-Payne has had the hot hand in practice, according to center Reese Dismukes.

"I think it'll probably be maybe Cameron Artis-Payne that'll probably start off with that (starting) role," Dismukes said on SiriusXM's College Sports Nation on Monday. "I think coach Malzahn, these coaches do a good job of whoever's hot is going to get the ball and they want the ball in that person's hands."

Artis-Payne and Corey Grant each topped 600 rushing yards and scored six rushing touchdowns last season.

The top junior college running back in the country in 2012, Artis-Payne is the more physical back and better fit to run between the tackles than the speedy Grant.

"We got a lot of faith in Cameron. He's one of those professionals: he comes to work every day, he's the same every day, he's great in meetings," offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. "He doesn't say a lot, he just gets his job done. He's an all-around back, he can protect well."

Though Grant is still listed at 205 pounds, Lashlee said he's gained muscle mass and has been doing more running in the middle of the field.

"He's very capable of running between the tackles now which I think is a plus for us with our depth," Lashlee said. "It's just impressive. He's a thick, big strong back that can fly."

Lashlee mentioned Peyton Barber and Roc Thomas are in the mix as well.

The Tigers offensive coordinator still left open the possibility of "running back by committee" scenario, not committing to Artis-Payne being the starter.

"We'll see how we filter in a third guy," Lashlee said, "but one guy takes off like last year, we'll adjust then."