Auburn senior running back Damari Alston no longer with team, Hugh Freeze says

AUBURN, Ala. (WSFA) - Auburn senior running back and team captain Damari Alston is no longer with the Tigers, Head Coach Hugh Freeze announced Monday at his monthly press conference.

Freeze did not provide a specific reason for the departure, but he said that while Alston is a talented player, he simply didn’t meet the standards expected of the program.

“We love him. Wish him the best. But that’s where it’s at,” Freeze told reporters.

Alston, a former three-star recruit out of Atlanta, was in his fourth season with the Tigers and was their starting running back at the beginning of the season.

He rushed for 84 yards on 16 carries against Baylor in Week 1, but had to sit out the next two games due to a shoulder injury.

Since then, he has seen increasingly limited action. In the Tigers’ last three games, all losses, Alston has carried for less than 25 yards.

With his departure, the Tigers’ running back room will be even thinner as transfer running back Durrell Robinson is still recovering from a “freak” injury that required an emergency procedure in September.

Jeremiah Cobb, who has seen the majority of carries since SEC play began, will now shoulder an even bigger workload in the backfield.

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