preview: Defensive line

[aubiefifty 18,231]

Auburn 2021 fall camp position preview: Defensive line

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

5-6 minutes

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This is the sixth in a nine-part series examining each position group ahead of the start of Auburn’s fall camp on Aug. 5. The sixth installment looks at Auburn’s defensive line.

The big question for Auburn’s defensive line this offseason wasn’t so much about talent, but rather how the existing talent on the roster would translate to new defensive coordinator Derek Mason’s scheme.

After running a 4-2-5 defensive scheme in prior seasons under Kevin Steele, Mason’s arrival is ushering in a new, multifaceted era, with the Tigers running more three-man fronts — after all, Mason is best known for his 3-4 defense — to go with some four- and five-linemen groupings. After experimenting with different personnel throughout the spring, it’s time for Mason to sort out how exactly he wants to run things up front along with defensive line coach Nick Eason.

Departed: Big Kat Bryant (transfer to UCF); Daquan Newkirk (transfer to Florida); Jaren Handy (transfer to Indiana); Jay Hardy (transfer to Liberty).

Returning starters: Tyrone Truesdell, senior; Colby Wooden, redshirt sophomore; Derick Hall, junior.

Other returning players: T.D. Moultry, senior; Zykeivous Walker, sophomore; Marquis Burks, senior; Dre Butler, junior; J.J. Pegues, sophomore; Romello Height, sophomore; Caleb Johnson, junior; Lee Hunter, freshman early enrollee; Daniel Foster-Allen, redshirt freshman; Jeremiah Wright, sophomore (out with ACL injury).

Summer arrivals: Eku Leota, Northwestern transfer; Marcus Harris, Kansas transfer; Tony Fair, UAB grad transfer; Dylan Brooks, four-star freshman; Marquis Robinson, four-star freshman; Tobechi Okoli, three-star freshman; Ian Mathews, three-star freshman.

Outlook: Mason said in the spring that Auburn’s personnel up front has him feeling like “a kid in a candy shop” — and that was before the influx of players the Tigers added to the group this summer.

Auburn welcomes back some key cornerstones along the defensive line, including fifth-year senior Tyrone Truesdell at tackle, defensive end Colby Wooden (9.5 tackles for a loss last season) and junior Derick Hall, all of whom have starting experience up front. They also bring back some rotational pieces in T.D. Moultry, Dre Butler, Marquis Burks, Zykeivous Walker and tight end-turned-tackle J.J. Pegues, whose spring move helped lessen the blow dealt by Jeremiah Wright’s torn ACL. Wright is still out heading into the fall, and it should be some time before he’s back in the fold, which is a tough hit for the interior of Auburn’s line after he was an early standout this spring.

While the cupboard was hardly bare for Mason up front, it didn’t stop Auburn from adding more quality pieces along the line this offseason. There was the arrival of four 2021 signees, including a pair of four-star recruits in Dylan Brooks and Marquis Robinson, but Auburn was also busy on the transfer market. The Tigers brought in nose tackle Tony Fair, a transfer from UAB, to fortify the interior of the line. They added Kansas transfer Marcus Harris, a Montomery native, to play defensive end. They also picked up Northwestern transfer Eku Leota, who provides another experienced edge defender to Mason’s new-look scheme.

That sort of depth up front is always a welcome luxury in the SEC, and now Mason and his staff have a month to figure out how to best utilize it before the season gets underway.

Battle to watch: Derick Hall has one edge spot locked down and has the makings of being a breakout star at the position this fall after notching 3.5 sacks last season, but Auburn needs someone to step up as its second edge defender to help provide pass-rush from both sides of the line. T.D. Moultry and Caleb Johnson were in the mix this spring, but Auburn adds two new pieces that could be factors off the edge this season: Northwestern transfer Eku Leota and four-star freshman Dylan Brooks, who was a late addition to the 2021 class after initially signing with Tennessee and then being granted a release from his letter of intent after the Vols’ coaching change.

Keep an eye on: True freshman Lee Hunter, a former four-star prospect who enrolled early this spring, has the makings of an impact freshman. At 6-foot-4, 321 pounds, Hunter has the chance to carve out a major role for himself early on the interior of Auburn’s defensive line.

Projected two-deep:

Defensive end

Colby Wooden (6-foot-5, 278 pounds)

Zykeivous Walker (6-foot-4, 289 pounds) OR

Marcus Harris (6-foot-2, 279 pounds)

Defensive tackle

Marquis Burks (6-foot-3, 314 pounds) OR

Dre Butler (6-foot-5, 298 pounds) OR

Lee Hunter (6-foot-4, 321 pounds)

Defensive tackle

Tyrone Truesdell (6-foot-2, 335 pounds)

J.J. Pegues (6-foot-3, 308 pounds) OR

Tony Fair (6-foot-1, 330 pounds)

Edge

Derick Hall (6-foot-3, 251 pounds)

Romello Height (6-foot-3, 214 pounds)

Edge

Caleb Johnson (6-foot-3, 276 pounds) OR

T.D. Moultry (6-foot-2, 253 pounds)

Eku Leota (6-foot-4, 250 pounds) OR

Dylan Brooks (6-foot-4, 227 pounds)

Up next: Linebackers.

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

[gravejd 3,304]

List out 5 DL positions on the 2 deep for a 3-4 lineup?? 🤔

It bothers me way more than it should that i don't know where our DL players fit in the scheme lol

[AUpreacherman22 3,945]

Lots of bodies!  Several with a good bit of potential.   Something tells me DL will not be a liability this year!