As with the receivers, the offensive line is deep in numbers and short on overall experience. When the remaining two incoming freshmen arrive, Auburn will have nineteen players challenging for a starting spot in 2011. The exodus of four-fifths of one of the greatest units to ever play at Auburn, leaves the competition wide open with Brandon Mosely being the only returning starter at one of the tackle spots. Mosely was thrust into action when starting tackle A.J. Greene was lost for the season with an ankle injury against Clemson. The loss of Greene didn’t seem to affect the Tigers as Mosley helped the offensive line finish paving the way to a Heisman Trophy for its quarterback and a National Championship for the team.
The coaches said Greene was not quite 100% in the Spring but were impressed by his improvement and expect him to be back at full strength by the Fall. No reason why he won’t be a frontrunner for a spot when two-a-days begin in August. After that is where the real question marks begin. There are several guys who saw decent playing time against weaker opponents and in blowout games. But nothing can prepare you like being in the heat of battle against defensive lines like those of LSU, Bama and Oregon in front of packed houses and millions more watching. However, Coach Grimes has proven he can get guys ready to go as well as anyone in the country. He’ll have his work cut out for him in 2011.
A couple of those that saw duty this past season were John Sullen and Jared Cooper. Coming out of the Spring, there were no clear frontrunners for the vacant spots but both these players got good long looks with the ones and garnered praise from Grimes. The center slot still looks to be a battle between former walk-on, Blake Burgess and an early arrival from the incoming signing class, Reese Dismukes. A Spanish Fort native, Dismukes was one of the most highly touted centers in the nation, which evokes memories of departed senior, Ryan Pugh. Auburn fans can only hope that Mr. Dismukes has anything close to the career that Pugh had on the Plains. Burgess however, is someone who has impressed the coaches with his work ethic and willingness to try and improve physically. He’s worked his way up to 273 pounds, which is normally adequate size for a center if he knows how to handle the position.
Overall, this group has some big bodies to work with as six of the linemen eclipse 320 pounds. Chad Slade, who comes in at 6’5†329 is a player who coaches feel has the potential to break the starting lineup at some point and Auburn fans are still waiting to see how or if two mammoths, Eric Mack and Aubrey Phillips live up to the hype. One player that everyone inside and outside the Auburn family should be pulling for is Shon Coleman, who is battling back from cancer to eventually contribute to this program. The highly recruited lineman was with the team for the Spring but is still likely a year away from being ready to mix it up. In some ways, this line could resemble the 2007 Auburn squads’ when three of the true freshmen from that year were forced into action, two of which never relinquished their spots in the rotation. The third….well….I forget his name. Auburn signed four linemen in this class with two of them, Dismukes and Thomas O’Reilly enrolling early. But two guys who the “experts†say could jump in the rotation right away are set to arrive for summer workouts. 6’5†285 Christian Westerman and 6’5†305 Louisiana native, Greg Robinson are names that Auburn fans are sure to be saying a lot in the coming seasons. Coming out of the Spring, Auburn’s offensive line roster reads:
Reese Dismukes 6-3 290
Eric Mack 6-3 330
Donnie Riggins 6-8 304
Chad Slade 6-5 329
Blake Burgess 6-2 273
Chase Seals 6-7 282
Tunde Fariyike 6-2 302
Thomas O’Reilly 6-3 326
Bobby Ingalls 6-7 331
Ed Christian 6-5 277
Ryan Preston 6-1 277
Shon Coleman 6-6 275
John Sullen 6-6 336
Brandon Mosely 6-6 306
A.J. Greene 6-5 298
Aubrey Phillips 6-5 344
Jared Cooper 6-4 298
Christian Westerman 6-5 285
Greg Robinson 6-5 305
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