Hugh Freeze wanted to show off Auburn’s new-look passing attack on A-Day, even while trying not to give too much away in terms of overall scheme. The weather on the Plains had other plans Saturday afternoon, though.

On a gray and rainy day that forced Auburn to ground its passing game, Freeze found a silver lining: the Tigers’ running attack, which not only looked pretty good in the spring game; it looked like a solid foundation on which to build upon heading into Year 1 of the Freeze era.

“Games like this, you can’t do too much passing,” said Avery Jones, the center transfer out of ECU. “So, you really got to focus on running the ball and moving people.”

Read more Auburn football: T.J. Finley addresses future amid uncertain quarterback situation after A-Day

Hugh Freeze feels “better” about Auburn’s QBs, but the transfer portal remains in play

Hugh Freeze wants to address these five positions in the spring transfer portal window

Auburn attempted just 12 passes during its weather-abbreviated A-Day game, but its running game was on full display as the offense ran for 292 sack-adjusted yards and averaged 6 yards per attempt during the 24-24 tie at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Every running back who touched the ball had at least one carry of 10-plus yards, and Auburn’s offense finished with 11 runs of at least 10 yards while playing behind a revamped offensive line.

Auburn’s run game distributed the work on A-Day but was efficient regardless of who was getting the carries. Sean Jackson led the way with 77 yards on 13 carries (5.9 yards per touch), while walk-on Justin Jones had 50 yards and a touchdown on 11 touches (4.5 yards per attempt).

The Tigers’ trio of scholarship backs were also effective in their limited action Saturday. Jarquez Hunter had 27 yards on four carries, all coming on the offense’s opening drive that ended in a Robby Ashford rushing touchdown. Hunter’s stint in the backfield included a 13-yard run that was immediately followed by a 20-yard run from Damari Alston, who finished with 43 yards on five carries and a team-leading 8.6 yards per attempt. Alston’s 20-yarder on the opening drive was the longest rushing play of the day for Auburn, and the sophomore received some praise afterward from Freeze.

“Damari Alston, I didn’t give enough credit to coming into this job, but he’s had one heck of a spring for us,” Freeze said.

Brian Battie, the veteran transfer from South Florida, added 32 yards on seven carries (4.6 yards per attempt), including a nifty 18-yarder that saw him shed a couple would-be tacklers before cutting back across the field to pick up some extra yardage.

“I know Coach ‘Lac (Cadillac Williams) prides himself on being able to put anybody in to do the job and getting the job done,” Hunter said. “It was just good to see everybody go out there and compete.”

Auburn added another 51 rushing yards from its quarterbacks, including 38 from Ashford on six attempts and 13 from T.J. Finley on two runs, including a 16-yarder. Holden Geriner also had a 7-yard keeper that was offset by a 7-yard loss on a sack in the first quarter.

“Quarterbacks always want to throw the ball, but our running backs did a heck of a job today running the ball,” Finley said. “Offensive line came off the ball with some power, even though it was raining so hard. We got to showcase that side of our offense as well, which is always good.”

It was an overall solid display from that aspect of Auburn’s offense, which shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Leading up to A-Day, Freeze said he felt good about a few of the running concepts the team was able to incorporate over the course of the spring, while he has made note of the fact the running backs and tight ends have been a strength the last six weeks, while the passing game has been a work in progress.

“The things that guys don’t see with the running backs is their ability to pick up blocks, their abilities to read coverages with us and notify the O-line when guys are blitzing and things like that, and actually landing blocks that we need for them to land,” Finley said. “That’s a key part of our passing game, and not only that, we all know all of our backs can run the ball. Like y’all saw today, all of our backs are good and dynamic. Those guys are a special group, and we’ll continue to utilize them in that way.”

Even the retooled offensive line, which included four new starters with the first-team offense Saturday — left tackle Dillon Wade, left guard Connor Lew, Jones at center and right tackle Gunner Britton joining right guard Jeremiah Wright — has been a pleasant surprise this spring. Freeze left A-Day feeling “cautiously optimistic” heading into the offseason with that unit, which took another step in the right direction Saturday.

“Well, I think from today, I think you’d say, overall, I thought we’re running the ball fairly well and getting the dirty yards from our backs,” Freeze said. “Our quarterback’s helping in the run game. So, I’d have to say I think we improved that O-Line some, and they looked pretty decent today.

“I think after today what’s on my mind is we’ve got to stop the run. You can’t win in this league if you can’t stop the run, and we didn’t stop it very well today on some drives. I would say that’s the two things that are on my mind, both good and bad, right now.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.