loads up on OL with 2020 class

[aubiefifty 18,230]

al.com

Auburn prioritizes, replenishes OL with 2020 class

Updated Dec 18, 2019;Posted Dec 18, 2019

6-8 minutes

Auburn Football

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

Gus Malzahn stood at the podium inside the auditorium of Auburn’s athletics complex 10 months ago and sent a clear message: Auburn needed reinforcements along the offensive line.

After years of recruiting misses and limited signees at that particular position, Auburn was going to make the offensive line a priority in the 2020 class. The Tigers, Malzahn said, were going to sign the largest offensive line class of Malzahn’s tenure as head coach.

Fast forward to Wednesday and the start of the early signing period, and Malzahn followed through with that message, as five of the Tigers’ early signees were offensive linemen — matching the most Auburn has signed in a single class since Malzahn took over as head coach.

“I think anytime you’re losing six seniors, it’s critical,” Malzahn said Sunday. “And we’ve known about that for a while. I think that’ll be a big factor in this class. And the good thing is, I think guys see the need. Good players see the need, and I think that helps.”

That need stems from Auburn not only losing six seniors up front — starters Prince Tega Wanogho, Marquel Harrell, Mike Horton and Jack Driscoll, as well as key reserves Kaleb Kim and Bailey Sharp — but from years of deficiencies recruiting along the offensive line.

Since Malzahn took over the program at the end of the 2012 season, the Tigers signed more than three offensive linemen in a recruiting class just once, in 2015. That year, Auburn inked five offensive linemen — Harrell, Kim, Sharp, Horton and Tyler Carr — and eventually got a boost from the successful conversion of Wanogho from defensive end to offensive tackle after his freshman season.

The Tigers twice signed just three offensive linemen in a class, in 2017 and 2019, and the other four years they signed only two apiece. That doesn’t account for Tashawn Manning, who signed as a defensive tackle in 2016 — a year in which Auburn only signed Brodarious Hamm and Prince Micheal Sammons — as he made the switch to the offensive side during spring practices in 2018. It also doesn’t account for Alec Jackson, who signed as a defensive tackle in 2017—when Auburn signed three offensive linemen — before making the move to offensive line prior to the start of spring practices earlier this year.

Those small offensive line classes, paired with the attrition of players such as five-star 2017 offensive tackle signee Calvin Ashley, who transferred, and Carr, who left the team for an internship prior to the 2018 season, is why Auburn will head into the 2020 calendar year with just 11 returning offensive linemen.

It’s why Malzahn and the rest of his offensive staff, including offensive line coach J.B. Grimes, felt urgency in signing a large offensive line class with the 2020 recruiting cycle. Auburn signed five on Wednesday, still holds a commitment from JUCO offensive tackle Jonathan Buskey and will try to flip five-star Georgia commit Broderick Jones, a top-20 recruit nationally and the No. 2 offensive tackle in the 2020 class. Jones did not sign during the early signing period and is expected to take an official visit to the Plains in January. The Tigers could also explore the grad transfer market once the dust settles after bowl season.

“We possibly could take another offensive lineman,” Malzahn said Wednesday. “You know, whether high school, whether grad transfer, so could be that. That really is where we're at as far as looking ahead.”

For now, though, the Tigers brought in five offensive line signees on Wednesday as part of a 21-member early signing class. Each of the first three National Letters of Intent that Auburn received Wednesday were from offensive linemen, while four of the first six all came from that position.

First among those was three-star junior college product Kilian Zierer, a 6-foot-7, 284-pounder originally from Germany who played JUCO at College of Canyons in California. Zierer is the top-rated JUCO offensive tackle in the country, and he could compete immediately for a starting spot at tackle as an early enrollee in January.

“We really felt strong that we needed to go out there and find one or two tackles, and of course, it really started with him,” Malzahn said. “… He’s athletic. He’s only been playing football, I believe, for two years. We really think that he’s got a chance to really be a special player.”

Shortly thereafter, Auburn got a signature from three-star interior lineman Avery Jernigan, a 6-foot-3, 306-pounder out of Pierce County High in Blackshear, Ga., who could play either center or guard and is the Tigers’ highest-rated offensive lineman in this class. Then the Tigers received an NLI from three-star guard Tate Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 325-pounder from LaGrange, Ga.

Within a couple hours of the day beginning, Auburn added its fourth offensive line signee in the form of three-star offensive tackle Jeremiah Wright out of Selma. Wright is a 6-foot-5, 340-pounder who is rated as the No. 40 offensive guard in the country—though Malzahn believes Wright’s play was overshadowed by where he played and was one of the Tigers’ most underrated signees.

“We really felt like if he was in an area like Atlanta, he would be one of the top linemen in the country,” Malzahn said. “He plays offense and defense. He's got an unbelievable skill set. We think he's going to be a really good player.”

Auburn closed out its offensive line class, for now at least, with the addition of another JUCO prospect in three-star offensive tackle Brenden Coffey, a 6-foot-6, 264-pounder out of Butte Community College in Paradise, Calif.

By finding the right mix of JUCO transfers and incoming freshmen, Auburn not only get a chance to help replenish its numbers along the offensive but, in a sense, staggers the numbers and backlogs a couple of them.

“We felt like we had to have a few guys we felt were ready to play,” Malzahn said. “And that's why we signed the two junior college guys. We could take another grad transfer, possibly two if the opportunity presents itself. And then we wanted some guys that could build this thing. We have the freshmen. We think all three are excellent players. Two of them are going to get here early, which I think is important. And just kind of building that offensive line depth for the future.”

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

[weagl1 1,809]

I hope this group works out and some of them are ready to play next fall cause we gonna need them!  

[I_M4_AU 8,933]

Time to coach them up, we have the talent.

[bigbird 60,939]

Oh good, now we have 16 OL! 

D-E-P-T-H!

 

What's crazy to me is knowing that we are losing 6 this year, why did we not bring in a big class last year? Have them on campus growing and learning for a year before the seniors leave. Now we bring in 3 that have little to no chance of contributing this year, 1 coming off a significant injury, and one hopeful contributor. I applaud us bringing in a large class, but it should've been done two years ago. We will need to have at minimum 3 more years of expanded OL classes just to catch up where we need to be. And those classes need to be balanced. We can't afford 4 guards and 0 tackles in classes anymore.

 

[gravejd 3,304]

38 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Oh good, now we have 16 OL! 

D-E-P-T-H!

 

What's crazy to me is knowing that we are losing 6 this year, why did we not bring in a big class last year? Have them on campus growing and learning for a year before the seniors leave. Now we bring in 3 that have little to no chance of contributing this year, 1 coming off a significant injury, and one hopeful contributor. I applaud us bringing in a large class, but it should've been done two years ago. We will need to have at minimum 3 more years of expanded OL classes just to catch up where we need to be. And those classes need to be balanced. We can't afford 4 guards and 0 tackles in classes anymore.

 

Yup...while this class OL class is really good and could become great if Jones sign on. It is still about 2 years too late in getting here. Hopefully we will be able to sign enough JUCOs to plug gaps until we can properly correct this rooster mismanagement 

[keesler 5,957]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

Oh good, now we have 16 OL! 

D-E-P-T-H!

 

What's crazy to me is knowing that we are losing 6 this year, why did we not bring in a big class last year? Have them on campus growing and learning for a year before the seniors leave. Now we bring in 3 that have little to no chance of contributing this year, 1 coming off a significant injury, and one hopeful contributor. I applaud us bringing in a large class, but it should've been done two years ago. We will need to have at minimum 3 more years of expanded OL classes just to catch up where we need to be. And those classes need to be balanced. We can't afford 4 guards and 0 tackles in classes anymore.

 

Well it's a good thing the 7th yr HC has recognized the deficiency and he's taken actions to correct it.  He's a little slow on the uptake on some things, but he eventually gets there.  

[beaumak 174]

13 hours ago, keesler said:

Well it's a good thing the 7th yr HC has recognized the deficiency and he's taken actions to correct it.  He's a little slow on the uptake on some things, but he eventually gets there.  

it could still be an anomaly. we can still follow up 2021 with 1 to none per usual.

[amsterjam 107]

Too little too late. We're losing 6 and still couldn't sign a single 4*. Not saying these guys won't be good but that's definitely a red flag.