Nice piece on the versatility of our beefy, sweaty young menz. Yessss.....
from Ainslie Lee at the dot com of al. I especially like the bolded part at the bottom.
While true at any level of football, controlling the line of scrimmage might be the biggest key to success in the SEC, which Auburn defensive coordinator Ron Roberts called a “man’s conference”.
Given the league-wide talent along the line of scrimmage, it’s imperative to have depth along both the defensive and offensive lines — something first-year head coach Hugh Freeze undoubtedly learned during his time at Ole Miss.
In recent years, it’s not a luxury the Tigers have had. Nor did it ever seem like a point of emphasis for Auburn’s previous coaching staff.
Junior Jayson Jones, who won earned the starting nose guard job last fall, remembers what it was like last season when the Tigers lacked depth and versatility.
“It’s hard to roll out there on Saturday with four interior linemen, especially in this league now,” Jones said. “If you have six or seven, that’s a plus and helps us. That helps everybody.”
The Tigers’ defensive line got a depth boost when true freshman Keldric Faulk made the move from jack linebacker to defensive end, where he continues to fight for the starting spot and open windows of opportunity for different personnel along the defensive line.
Perhaps the first domino to fall following Faulk’s shift was Marcus Harris moving back to defensive tackle after lining up at defensive end at the start of fall camp.
Harris, who lined up at defensive tackle last fall, is better in the interior of the defensive line, Auburn defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett says. But his time early in camp gave him a bit of valuable experience at the end spot, which could come in handy this season, should the Tigers need to make adjustments.
“If we’re playing a 12 personnel, heavy-type team, well now you can put three big guys in there at the same time because Marcus has done that,” Garrett said. “Marcus and Justin (Rogers) and Jayson (Jones) can be in there, you know, if you want to line up in 12-person personnel. For downhill runs, you’ve got that combination.”
After transferring from Oregon ahead of last season, Jones has two combined seasons of Power 5 football under his belt. He recognizes the advantages of having multiple guys being able to play multiple positions along the defensive line.
“You always want your d-line to play different positions,” Jones said. “If this guy can play the three technique then we can play this guy at nose guard or this guy at end, so we can move them and play a new defensive tackle... It plays a big part. You always want to have a versatile D-line instead of a person that can play just one position.”
And the exact same thing can be said of the offensive line.
Senior offensive lineman Jalil Irvin is a perfect example. In five seasons on The Plains, he’s seen time both at center and guard.
Irvin has also seen the Tigers’ offensive line without much depth. But with a handful of experienced transfers coming in this year, that’s changed.
“We have a lot of people that can play all over the field. We got me that can play center and guard. Tate center and guard, Gunner’s playing right and left tackle. D-Wade as well. We got a lot of people that can do a lot of stuff so if anything happens during the season I think we’ll be okay to go out there and get the job done still.”
Auburn welcomed Tulsa transfers Dillon Wade and Jaden Muskrat over the offseason, as well as Western Kentucky transfer Gunner Britton and Eastern Carolina transfer Avery Jones.
Returners Jeremiah Wright and Kam Stutts have continued to battle for the starting gig at left guard — a competition that’s been fun to watch for every other offensive lineman questioned. There’s also a race at the right guard spot with Muskrat and junior returner Tate Johnson, who is coming off an injury, have duked out for the job all fall camp.
The tackle spots feel more solid with Wade and Britton getting the majority of the first team looks.
At center, Avery Jones feels to have locked down the job, though nose guard Jayson Jones is also high on true freshman Connor Lew.
“There’s some plays he’s blocking the crap out me,” Jayson Jones said of Lew. “Like, freshmen don’t do this. Connor’s going to be good. You can mark my words. I’d bet money on it. Connor’s going to be really good. He’s going to be real good.”
Auburn finally has a coaching staff that understands the importance of rotating players on Saturday — especially along both lines of scrimmage.
But more importantly, the Tigers finally have a roster that allows them to do so.
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