Ever since Jimmy Hitchcock garnered All-American honors for Auburn in 1932, the Tigers have had a long history of standout tailbacks perform at the school. The South Carolina transfer stepped in and filled the void created by the departure of NFL first-round draft picks Carnell Williams (Tampa Bay) and Ronnie Brown (Miami) in 2005, as Irons proved to be a capable replacement for that tandem as Auburn's featured back.

The consensus All-American and All-Southeastern Conference preseason selection was hoping to improve upon his junior season performance in 2006 and make a serious run at the Heisman Trophy. However, a series of injuries would sidetrack that quest, forcing him to miss two games and be at less than 100 percent in most of the other contests he played in. Still, most personnel experts regard Irons as one of the premier prospects at his position for the 2007 NFL Draft.

The Dacula High School product earned PrepStar All-American honors as a senior and was rated the 14th-best running back in the country by that recruiting service. He ran for 1,985 yards that year and was a member of The Sporting News' Top 25 squad. Irons was named to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super 11 team, selected the Gwinnett County Back of the Year and Atlanta Touchdown Club Back of the Week his final campaign. He also played in the 2001 Georgia/Florida High School All-Star Football Game.

After being heavily recruited, Irons chose South Carolina over Michigan, Auburn, Clemson and Georgia. He appeared in seven games as a true freshman in 2002, picking up 201 yards on 47 carries (4.3 avg). He added 63 yards and a touchdown on four receptions (15.8 avg.) and gained 13 yards on one kickoff return. In 2003, Irons was listed far down on head coach Lou Holtz's depth chart at tailback. He appeared in only five games and was limited to 19 runs for 51 yards (2.7 avg.) and a touchdown. He also had two catches for 8 yards.

After his sophomore season, Irons decided it was time to transfer. Hoping for more playing time and wishing to be reunited with his older brother, David, both siblings enrolled at Auburn in 2004. Kenny was forced to sit out the season under NCAA transfer rules. David, who came over from Butler County Community College, was granted a medical hardship after the cornerback suffered a knee injury in preseason camp.

With Williams and Brown having entered the National Football League, Kenny Irons emerged as the Tigers' starting tailback in 2005. He was an All-Southeastern Conference first-team selection, leading the SEC and ranked 21st nationally with an average of 107.75 yards per game rushing. Irons ran 256 times for 1,293 yards and 13 touchdowns. He made 14 catches for 164 yards (11.7 avg.) and gained 2 yards on one punt return.

In 2006, Irons appeared in 10 games, missing two contests and playing most of the year at less than 100 percent due to turf toe, a groin pull, a high ankle sprain and a bruised fibula. He still managed to pick up All-SEC first-team honors from the league's coaches, as he ranked third in the conference in rushing, averaging 82.1 yards per game. He led the team with 821 yards and four touchdowns on 174 attempts (4.7 avg.). He snared nine passes for 76 yards (8.4 avg.) and amassed 897 all-purpose yards.

In 12 games at South Carolina, Irons started once. He rushed 66 times for 252 yards (3.8 avg.) and one touchdown for the Gamecocks. He also had six receptions for 71 yards (11.9 avg.), including one score and returned a kickoff 13 yards. In 22 games at Auburn, Irons started 18 times. He totaled 2,114 yards on 430 chances (4.9 avg.) with 17 touchdowns. He caught 23 passes for 240 yards (10.4 avg.) and had one punt return for a 2-yard gain.

For his collegiate career, Irons collected 2,366 yards with 18 touchdowns on 496 rushes (4.8 avg.). He hauled in 29 passes for 311 yards (10.7 avg.) and one score. Irons also gained 13 yards on one kickoff return and 2 yards on a punt return. He amassed 2,624 all-purpose yards, an average of 77.2 yards per game.

Positives: Much more quick than he is fast, but shows very good explosion and burst coming out of his stance … Attacks the holes with good pad level and forward body lean … Has that ease-of-movement agility to change direction and locate the cutback lanes without having to throttle down … Shows crisp plant and drive agility to get to his top speed in an instant and shows good up field cutting ability … Intense competitor who will not hesitate to bang it up the middle of the line, despite concerns about his overall strength … Builds acceleration instantly and is a very sudden player with the loose hips, wiggle and head fakes to simply fool a lethargic defender … Quick through the holes, staying low in his pads while generating the forward body lean to generate valid positive yardage, even in tight areas … Can also rock the defenders back on their heels with his stop-and-go action … Shows an explosive burst through the holes and the speed to escape second level defenders to break away for a long run … Alert to cutback lanes and works hard to set the plays up … When he finds the rush lane, he has the balance and agility to pick and slide through that hole … It is rare to see him go down on first contact because of the way he keeps his body lean moving forward … Won't ever be confused for Craig "Ironhead" Heyward taking the ball up the gut and can't be considered a power runner, but he has that sudden burst to squeeze through tight areas and the leg drive to side-step or run over smaller defenders to get past the second level … Because he plays at that low pad level, he consistently gets leverage and is fluid in his pick and slide … Won't be easily tripped up because of his above average balance … Too slippery to be neutralized by arm tackles or from defenders trying to take out his legs … While his pick and slide ability is effective, he is just better using cutback lanes than trying to outrun his blocking to get past tacklers … Has that body control and balance to redirect without having to vary his speed … Knows his second gear is much more effective at eluding tacklers rather than trying to juke or wiggle away from them … Darting runner who doesn't have the leg drive to power through tacklers, but is tough to bring down in isolated coverage … The thing you notice on film is his ability to outrun angles and squeeze through holes without having to throttle down … Fast-twitched in his route progression and has the quick pitter-patter steps to ride up on a defender and gobble the cushion.

Negatives: Developing better overall muscle tone, but is not as strong as the Auburn runners in the past (Carnell Williams/Ronnie Brown) … Has room on his frame to carry additional bulk, but could probably fill out only to 215 pounds before seeing the additional weight start to affect his quickness … Needs more than a few reps to retain, and while he plays with good field vision, he might struggle a bit with a complicated playbook as he needs help in digesting his assignments … Has to do a better job with his vision in reading blocks in space, but has improved the last year … When he fails to run behind his pads, he will get stymied in attempts to take the defender on straight-up … Needs to work on his ball security mechanics, as he gets a bit careless distributing the ball to keep it away from the defender … Seems to prefer to catch in a small window rather than pluck for the ball … Is adequate on screens due to his body control, but has not seen much more than controlled routes (struggles some when asked to operate on crossers or attack the deep seam, as he looks awkward tracking the ball in flight) … Explodes into his routes to gobble up the cushion, but lacks recognition skills to know when to work back to the ball when the quarterback is pressured … Gets run over too much trying to pick up the blitz or bull rush, as he lacks the base strength to hold his ground firmly … When he tries to face up vs. the bigger defenders, his marginal hand-placement technique sees that opponent easily slip off his blocking attempt.

Compares To: Jerious Norwood of the Atlanta Falcons … Like Norwood, Irons' explosive initial quickness lets him gain instant leverage on any defender … Both are not considered power runners, but because of their burst and low pad level, they have been able to gain valid yardage between tackles … When either of these runners turn the corner, that second gear takes over and their foot race is easily won.

2006: Sat out the Buffalo contest due to a right groin sprain and a right turf toe (Sept. 23) … Did not play vs. Tulane (Oct. 21) because of a left high ankle sprain and bruised fibula … Did not start vs. Georgia (Nov. 11) due to his high ankle sprain and bruised fibula.

Campus: 4.51 in the 40-yard dash (against the wind) … 4.5 in the 40-yard dash (wind-aided) … 315-pound bench press … 341-pound power clean … 36-inch vertical jump … 10-foot-3 broad jump … 4.26 20-yard shuttle … 7.34 three-cone drill … 31 5/8-inch arm length … 10 1/8-inch hands … Right-handed … Wears contacts.

Attended Dacula (Ga.) High School, playing football for head coach Kevin Maloof … Earned PrepStar All-American honors as a senior and was rated the 14th-best running back in the country by that recruiting service … Ran for 1,985 yards that year and was a member of The Sporting News' Top 25 squad … Named to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super 11 team, selected the Gwinnett County Back of the Year and Atlanta Touchdown Club Back of the Week his final campaign … Played in the 2001 Georgia/Florida High School All-Star Football Game.

Business economics/liberal arts major … Son of David Irons … Father works for Pat Dye's player agency … Brother of teammate and All-Southeastern Conference cornerback, David Irons … Born Sept. 15, 1983 … Resides in Dacula, Ga.