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Auburn dismissed senior running back Damari Alston, coach Hugh Freeze announced on Monday. Alston was named a team captain prior to the season, but he had missed to games with a shoulder injury. Asked about the status of Alston at his Monday press conference, Freeze said Alston was no longer with the team because he fell short of the “expectations and standards” set by the program.
“Damari failed to meet the expectations and standards of our program,” Freeze said. “We love him and wish him the best, but that’s where it’s at.”
A former three-star recruit out of Atlanta, Alston was in his fourth season with the Tigers. A shoulder injury forced Alston to miss games against Ball State and South Alabama, but even when he was healthy, he saw limited action. After getting 16 carries for 84 yards and a touchdown in Auburn’s season-opening win over Baylor, Alston’s opportunities have declined sharply of late.
In the Tigers’ last three games, all losses, Alston hasn’t seen more than seven carries of 25 yards. In Saturday’s game against Georgia, Alston rushed for just nine yards on seven touches.
In his Auburn career, Alston rushed for 809 yards and six touchdowns while adding 143 receiving yards.
With Alston gone, Jeremiah Cobb will shoulder and even bigger workload in the backfield. The Tigers’ leading rusher this season, Cobb has 453 yards and four touchdowns on 70 attempts. Quarterback Jackson Arnold, who has 247 yards and six scores on the ground, will continue to be a big factor in that department.
