After entering the season with questions as to his durability, Kerryon Johnson is proving he can not only withstand the wear of being an SEC running back but has shown a willingness to take on contact.
The Auburn sophomore has 78 carries for 371 yards and four touchdowns and eight receptions for 70 yards this season, averaging just under 20 carries per game.
In last week's win over LSU, Johnson was not dropped for a loss once on his 22 carries for 93 hard-fought yards and four catches for 68 yards.
"I thought Kerryon Johnson was a full-grown man," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "He was physical as I've ever seen. He was running with passion. He broke tackles. They've got a lot of guys who can really tackle. It was a really physical game. ... He's a competitor and he's got a little punch. They're a physical team so it says a lot about him."
On Auburn's final drive before halftime, Johnson was involved in six straight plays before eventually being stopped just shy of the goal line on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
He had four carries for 35 yards (a penalty wiped out a five-yard run) and a 36-yard reception to help get the Tigers into scoring position.
"I think he answered the questions of durability and if people think he's tough enough," offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. "He ran like an Auburn running back. That drive before half, he ran the safety over, a couple of times we threw the ball out to him in the flats and he made some guys miss. He ran hard. He ran extremely hard, and that was what really stood out.
"There was a couple of times he punished some guys. He's the guy that you think is going to make people miss and all that, but he's done a really good of running downfield."
Johnson didn't think it was his best performance because of the goal-line stop before halftime that kept the score 9-7 when Auburn could have taken a two-score lead.
"If I would've got in on that 1-yard line - they stuffed me - bottom line is I didn't get in," Johnson said. "If I would've got in there, maybe (it's my best game), but since then it's not. Obviously they looked at me to get in on a fourth-and-1 and I didn't do it. So next time that has to happen from here on out for the rest of my career."
For as many hits as Johnson took last week, his elusiveness remains his strongest skill as he aims to be Auburn's next 1,000-yard rusher.
According to Pro Football Focus, Johnson has forced an SEC-best 17 missed tackles this season.
When he had to rely on brute force, Johnson wasn't afraid to do so.
"I felt about as good as you can running against a defense like that in the fourth quarter," he said. "Obviously you get bangs and bruises but we wanted this and I wanted this.
"So whatever, if I had to go 15 more (carries) I had to run it because I just wanted to win that bad. It didn't really matter to me, beat up or bruised, it doesn't matter, we got to go out there and win."