Auburn has produced Pro Bowl running backs William Andrews, James Brooks, Stephen Davis, Ronnie Brown, Tucker Frederickson, Brent Fullwood, Bo Jackson and Rudi Johnson. But last season, no running back from Auburn registered a rushing attempt in the NFL.

The most recent Auburn running back to carry the football in an NFL regular-season game was Peyton Barber for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021.

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But Auburn will get back on the board in the 2023 NFL season with the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Tank Bigsby.

Bigsby joined the Jaguars from Auburn in the third round of the NFL Draft on April 28, and through two preseason games, he ranks second in the AFC in rushing with 122 yards on 22 carries.

In Jacksonville’s 25-7 victory over the Detroit Lions on Saturday, Bigsby started and played 27 snaps. He ran for 70 yards on 13 carries and caught a pass that lost 2 yards.

“He still has some room to grow, obviously,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said after the game, “and there are some things that we can show him on tape, and he’s just going to continue to get better. We wanted to see extensive reps with him today. And again, this is the first time that some of these guys have played this much football, so you see the physicality, their conditioning, the mental capacity. But I thought he did some really good things for us and some things we can correct and just continue to improve.”

Bigsby won’t be the starter for the Jaguars. But he’s in position to back up Travis Etienne, who ran for 1,125 yards and five touchdowns on 220 carries in 2022.

Right behind Bigsby among the AFC rushing leaders is another former Auburn player, but he’s not a running back. Tennessee Titans quarterback Malik Willis is tied for third in the conference with 113 rushing yards and one touchdown on 14 carries.

In the Titans’ 24-16 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday, Willis went all the way at quarterback. With Tennessee holding out starter Ryan Tannehill and rookie Will Levis sidelined by an injury, Willis completed 10-of-17 passes for 85 yards with one touchdown and one interception and ran for 91 yards on 11 carries.

“If the protection breaks down and Malik’s got to take off, that’s a skill set,” Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel said. “And that can be a strength. … Excited about his ability to use his legs as a weapon but then also remain a passer.”

Although Levis practiced some this week, ESPN reported on Friday the rookie QB’s thigh injury will keep him out of Tennessee’s preseason finale, too. That could mean another full-game run for Willis when the Titans play the New England Patriots at 7:15 p.m. CDT Friday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. NFL Network will televise the game.

The Jaguars will conclude their preseason schedule against the Miami Dolphins at 6 p.m. Saturday at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.