Ronnie was great, but he didn’t do as much as the Cadillac. Not even close.

Career Rushing Yards:
Williams: 3831
Brown: 2707

Career Non-Rushing Yards:
Williams: 1253
Brown: 683

Career TD:
Williams: 46
Brown: 30

I love Ronnie, but it shouldn’t be a split decision.

I got a list of the top Auburn Running Backs online with stats. It breaks them down and includes Tate.

http://pieonsports.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/ranking-ben-tate-among-the-all-time-auburn-rushers/

-Pie

Thanks for all the suggestions/nominees. I’ll update the post with a couple in a few days. To hit a couple of specific player points:

– Ben Grubbs was a tough call. I know he was an All-American, first-round draft choice, etc., but that 2006 line really should have been better than it was. I thought the top 20 ought to be reserved for guys who pretty much played to the peak of their abilities the entire time, and I don’t know if I’d say that about Grubbs.

– You could flip a coin between Rosegreen (another late “cut”) and Herring. I went with Herring because 1) the starts record 2) ultimately I thought he was more critical to that 2006 team’s success than Rosegreen ever was to his teams’, but that’s obviously an extremely subjective measure.

tiger7: I’d argue that it was Brown’s emergence in ’02 that drove Cadillac to come back from his injury with the fury that he did. I’d also argue that it was the terror and versatility that resulted from having them both on the field in ’04 that made that offense what it was. I’m fine with saying Caddi ought to get the No. 1 nod (obviously not the way I went, but I understand it), but I also don’t doubt that both players got a lot of their simultaneous presence on the roster. Hell, they even said as much at the time.

Alex P: The 2005 offense scored at almost the exact same rate (32.2 PPG to 32.1), but averaged about 10 fewer total yards per game and saw its per-play average drop from 6.4 to 6 even. And sorry, even in ’05 Cox was not in the same ballpark with Campbell–2.5 yards fewer per throw, a huge dip in passer rating, and the flurry of picks that cost us the Ga. Tech game. I think it all adds up to a “minor step backwards,” yes.

Chris, Will: thanks for the memory, and the clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbHyFdlw64I

Footage at the 1:35 mark. On an unrelated note. That D played with some serious swagger. Let’s bring that back, shall we?

WAR EAGLE!

But great work as usual, Jerry! Provocative list! Thanks!

“Neither one is what he became for Auburn without the other…”

I couldn’t disagree more. Here’s how I see it..

When Caddy stepped on campus, he was Caddy. Carnell Williams didn’t need any other running back to provide competition in order to motivate him to improve himself or his game. Caddy did that (ALWAYS) because of who he was and the way he is. You could tell from his first carry that this kid GOT it. Now he learned over the years. Got better. Improved his game. But he had “it” from Day One.

Ronnie Brown? Not so much. In 2000, he got 10 yards on six carries in his the first two games and red-shirted. NO instant impact. In 2001, Ronnie rushed for 330 yards and two TDs on 84 carries (3.9 ypc). What did Caddy do in 2001 (his true freshman year)? He rushed for 614 yards and 6 TDs on 120 carries (5.1 ypc). It is well known that the 2001 season lit a fire under Ronnie and he started working harder and longer to improve his game, much harder than he had the previous two years. What motivated him to do so? Carnell Williams.

Two great Auburn running backs, absolutely. LOVE’EM both.

But the Cadillac stepped on campus ready to roar (and, breaking Auburn records in single-season TDs and career TDs). It took a Cadillac running him over to motivate Ronnie Brown (and, to his credit, he stepped up to the challenge).

THAT’S the difference (Auburn record-holder) Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown as Auburn players. There may not be a significant difference between the two and their contributions to the Auburn team. But there IS a difference… and that difference is to the Cadillac’s advantage.