AUBURN, Alabama --

Gus Malzahn

has become known for using two types of running backs in his hurry-up, no-huddle offense, a thumper to run between the tackles and a home-run hitter to test teams on the perimeter.

What Auburn's coaching staff actually wants is as many talented backs as possible.

The more skill sets Auburn's backfield has, the more Malzahn and offensive coordinator

Rhett Lashlee

can break open the playbook in a running game that accounts for more than 60 percent of the play-calling.

"We’re a team that runs the football quite a bit," Lashlee said, "so it’s good to have quite a few backs you feel like can get it done."

Highlighting the strengths of a couple of different running backs in the same offense is nothing new. Most offensive coordinators want that kind of versatility out of the running game.

But Malzahn's need for multiple skill sets has plenty to do with the offense's origins. Malzahn's running game is built on the plays of the Wing-T formation: the power, counter, buck sweep and option. In the Wing-T, an offense actually used three different backs: a bruising fullback, all-purpose halfback and a wingback to provide the game-breaking speed.

Malzahn has added the inside zone to that foundation, a zone-blocking scheme that allows offensive linemen to double on defensive linemen and asks a running back to pick the hole.

"That's something that Gus has kind of latched on to is the addition of the inside zone." offensive line coach

J.B. Grimes

said. " "I think it allows you to put two big offensive line bodies, in certain situations, on one big defensive lineman, so it allows you to get physical at the point of attack."

An inside zone runner has to be a one-cut type, a downhill player who can break tackles in the box. Both

Cameron Artis-Payne

and

Peyton Barber

fit that bill, a type of player Auburn targeted in the 2013 class.

"(Barber)'s someone that we really think we can be strong between the tackles," running backs Coach

Tim Horton

said. "When you watch his film, he looks like someone who can be a very capable inside zone runner."

On the outside, Malzahn does like to use a burner, but there's also a place in the offense for a player with good hands out of the backfield.

"He can score in one play for you, which is obviously, something that you need in this league," Horton said. "He can give us some stuff on the perimeter that we really think can add to our team."

Auburn's lone proven returning playmaker,

Tre Mason

, may be able to fit multiple roles. Former offensive coordinator

Scot Loeffler

praised Mason throughout the 2012 season for a knack with the wide-zone play, a play that requires similar skills to the inside zone.

Mason has also shown an ability to catch the ball, and he served as a perimeter runner in Malzahn's offense as a freshman, although he's added roughly 15 pounds since then.

Mason's range of skills, and his experience, mean he could be the type of all-purpose player that adds versatility to the offense without substituting.

"He needs to, because he's done things on the field that obviously others haven't, and it's still a little early," Horton said. "He's going to be asked to be a leader, and he's got to step up and do it."

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