It hasn’t taken long for Damari Alston to sound the horn as a vocal leader for Auburn.

He’s only a sophomore, but Alston’s emergence this fall camp isn’t just due to the game-breaking runs he’s produced on the field. In a running back room he said can be quiet sometimes, he wants to be the loudest voice.

That stretches off the field and onto Twitter often — like that time Alston asked if Longhorn Steakhouse is a good spot for a date.

“Some little girls saying that Longhorn is not a date, and I’m talking to my girlfriend,” Alston said. “We like: ‘We love Longhorn,’ so we going to Longhorn.”

And yes, Alston said it was her idea.

“I’d never been to Longhorn, then she put me onto this ribeye, and I’m like ‘Oh, yeah’” Alston said. “I ain’t been in a minute, but we used to go like every week.”

See, this is Alston joking around. That’s his personality on and off the field, with and without the team. He wants to be a go-to guy, to be vocal.

Throughout fall camp, Alston’s name kept coming up when others were asked about leaders. Head coach Hugh Freeze said Alston was unanimously elected to Auburn’s “culture council.”

Freeze said that demonstrated high praise for Alston from his teammates for them to all say the sophomore running back forwards the culture they want in this program.

This was all a long-set goal for Alston. He said he learned how to be a leader from watching former Auburn running back Tank Bigsby last season. By the time summer workouts began, Alston began to feel comfortable as a leader for the first time.

“You’re talking about a guy that’s selfless, you’re talking about a guy that’s always checking on his teammates, always trying to pour into others,” running backs coach Cadillac Williams said. “Guys know that you can count on Damari, from his support, from his help, from him showing the way, from his work ethic, from his grind. I’m excited about Damari this year.”

Williams said Alston’s leadership comes from a childhood where he had to “grow up fast.” He called Alston humble, wise and a joy to watch. All of that, Williams said, is inspiring.

And that even stretches into recruiting, where Alston has been seen online advertising Auburn to high school players and pushing for them to choose his team.

“I feel like in order for us to get to where we want to be which is winning SEC championships, winning national championships, we have to get the top recruits in the nation,” Alston said. “Like we have to get them. I think we’re on a good start right now, we just have to keep it going.”

That is just part of Alston’s role with Auburn. And on the field, he’s been one of the bright lights of fall camp.

Alston initially saw first-team looks while Jarquez Hunter missed Auburn’s first bunch of practices. Though it’s not as if Alston doesn’t have a role with Hunter back.

Williams said Alston has a “night and day” difference as an improved pass-catcher from a year ago.

“I have so many notes written down in my notebook about just the things that he says to us, and I take it, and I run with it,” Alston said of learning from Williams. “And I just feel like taking notes from him definitely evolved the way that I approached the field, the way that I lead my team, for sure.”

While Hunter may be the more all-around running back, Alston possesses top-end speed. That showed in the three “explosive” runs Freeze said Alston had in Auburn’s preseason scrimmage Saturday.

Auburn has posted a few of those runs on Twitter, like his touchdown Saturday, and another in practice during the week leading up to the scrimmage.

With his game-breaking runs the preseason, Alston may have found himself a new nickname, or at least a new celebration.

When the fast-runner blows past defenders, he throws up the ‘deuces’ celebration, similar to one used by star NFL wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

Alston hasn’t scored a touchdown yet in a game for Auburn. As a freshman, Alston had only 14 carries for 85 yards and caught one pass.

So not only is Alston stepping up as a leader for Auburn during fall camp, but he too is stepping into a much larger role with this offense — he said his goal for this year is to rush for 1,000 yards. So he’s had some time to think about what that first touchdown celebration will be whenever it comes.

“I mean, sometimes in my room I just think about, you know, what’s going to be my first touchdown celebration, but I mean I don’t have another one planned,” Alston said. “That was just kind of natural, because I was just blowing past a guy. I think I’m going to stick with that, and hopefully the crowd catch on, they throw up the deuces, too.”