NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- The spread offense had supposedly driven the fullback into extinction.
Tell that to Auburn senior Jay Prosch, the 6-foot, 258-pound catalyst of the top rushing offense in college football.
"He's the guy that makes them go," Florida State defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt said Thursday. "There are very few times that he's not knocking somebody back. He's a really good football player."
Calling himself a "glorified offensive lineman" several times during the course of the first press conference leading up to Monday's BCS national championship game between the Tigers and Seminoles, Prosch's role consists almost exclusively of blocking for quarterback Nick Marshall (1,023 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns) and running back Tre Mason (1,621 yards, 22 touchdowns).
"I remember the Tennessee game, he had a busted-up nose, and he was out there bloody from all the work he's been doing," Marshall said. "It's just awesome to have a guy like that on your team do the dirty work for you like that."
Prosch himself has touched the ball just five times this season, all receptions for 95 yards with his first career touchdown. To put that in perspective, Prosch's touches account for just 0.53 percent of Auburn's 934 plays on offense this season.
Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee sees Prosch having even more value in the NFL, forecasting a successful career ahead.
"He's going to make a lot of money at the next level in the NFL, there is no doubt," Lashlee said. "He's got great feel for angles and he can make certain blocks that maybe other guys in the past couldn't make."
But Auburn uses Prosch in unconventional ways, for a fullback anyway. Prosch is often asked to get to the edge and help create running lanes on the perimeter by sealing off linebackers and defensive backs, which he describes as "finesse blocking."
"It's not just like throw everything out the window and run full speed and ram this guy," Prosch said.
Prosch does have experience in that role, starting his college career and earning All-America honors at Illinois before a family medical emergency prompted him to transfer closer to home.
Prosch earned All-America recognition again this season at Auburn.
Turns out there is a still place for a good fullback, even in the spread, and Prosch is the proof.
Follow Dan Greenspan on Twitter @DanGreenspan.