Auburn gets extended look at future of offensive line

[aubiefifty 18,230]

Auburn gets extended look at future of offensive line

Posted Nov 24, 8:15 AM

5-6 minutes

Auburn Football

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Gus Malzahn hoped he would have an opportunity to get his younger reserves some opportunities against Samford, but Auburn’s coach didn’t expect to see a third-team offensive lineman play the majority of the game.

Yet that was the case Saturday with redshirt freshman Jalil Irvin, who was thrust into action at right guard in the first half of Auburn’s 52-0 rout of Samford. Irvin took over at right guard late in the first half after Kaleb Kim exited with an undisclosed injury; Kim was already in for an injured Mike Horton, who was held out with a minor injury, according to Malzahn.

Irvin filled in at right guard, and then shifted to center in the second half of the blowout as No. 15 Auburn had a chance to catch a glimpse at the future of its offensive line, with several young linemen playing throughout the second half.

“I think we didn't pretty good,” Irvin said. “We moved the ball, did what we were supposed to do, what the coaches told us to do. The result show for themselves.”

Behind a reserve offensive line, Auburn’s offense scored two second-half touchdowns on drives of 68 and 59 yards, as the Tigers rolled up 544 total yards of offense on the afternoon. The first scoring drive behind the young offensive line spanned 10 plays, while the second took five snaps. With the backups in, the Tigers totaled 217 yards over four drives while averaging 6.8 yards per play.

When Irvin shifted to center in the second half, Auburn utilized a line featuring redshirt sophomore Alec Jackson at left tackle, redshirt sophomore Tashawn Manning at left guard, redshirt senior Bailey Sharp at right guard and redshirt sophomore Brodarious Hamm at right tackle. Sharp is the only one who won’t be back next season, but the other four — with Nick Brahms returning to anchor the line at center — represent the possible future of the line in 2020 as the Tigers graduate six seniors up front.

“I think we'll be fine next year,” Irvin said. “I mean, people like me, Brodarious, Tashawn, Nick — we've all been in that room. We know how Coach (J.B.) Grimes is, so we've just to keep the standard of what the six seniors left us and keep raising the bar every year.”

Jackson signed with Auburn as a defensive tackle, but he shifted to the offensive side of the ball this spring. Since then, he has been working at left tackle as the Tigers continue to try to build depth along an offensive line that was somewhat depleted by years of missing along the recruiting trail. Manning also originally signed as a defensive lineman, but he switched to offense in the spring of 2018 and has been developing at left guard.

Hamm may be the most promising prospect of the group, as he has been talked up by coaches and players alike, especially during fall camp, when the 6-foot-5, 312-pounder shifted over to right tackle.

“He’s a strong dude,” Brahms said. “He’s strong. He’s strong as crap. He’s a strong dude and he’s big. He knows what to do.”

Irvin was the biggest benefactor among the younger linemen against Samford, though. He played the majority of the game and saw time at two positions. He originally signed with Auburn as a center, and he got to play there for much of the second half, but he also got valuable first-team reps at right guard, where he has been repping for much of the season. He appeared in just three games prior to Saturday, but he made the most of his opportunity with the starters.

“Jalil is doing really well,” said Brahms, who unseated Kim for the starting center job a few weeks ago. “He is playing two different spots: center and guard. That’s really hard to do as a redshirt freshman, and so I think he stepped up to the challenge. I think he did a really good job today.”

Irvin felt that the opportunity at Samford helped him get his foot in the door, and that the extra experience should be valuable not just for him as he eyes a starting job in 2020, but for the rest of the Tigers’ young linemen as they prepare for larger roles next season.

“The future is bright,” Brahms said. “I’m looking forward to playing with those guys. They’re super talented and next year is going to be a fun one.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

[weagl1 1,809]

I sure hope it works out we got a lot of holes to fill on both the lines next year.  

[Farmer Brown 2,461]

If all the sec teams were Samford quality, we could dominate. 

[AUsince72 11,084]

7 minutes ago, Farmer Brown said:

If all the sec teams were Samford quality, we could dominate. 

If Gus' offense was as good as it's supposed to be, more teams would seem like Samford.