Building a new O-line

Building a new O-line

Cyrus Kouandjio is now a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide, after some further deliberation.

War Eagle anyway; our Tigers have arguably the best incoming offensive line class in the nation.

Let’s discuss how this year’s offensive line will take shape. First, the graduates that leave behind open spots:

Lee Ziemba, starting left tackle for all 14 games
Mike Berry, starting left guard for all 14 games
Ryan Pugh, starting center for all 14 games
Byron Isom, starting right guard for 14 games
Bart Eddins, Berry’s back-up
Jorrell Bostrom, Isom’s back-up

The slots filled by Eddins and Bostrom are inconsequential. The four names above them were the soul of Auburn’s ground game during a national championship season and are not easily replaceable. But here’s who the Tigers have coming back that have the ability to compete for starting spots:

Brandon Mosley (Senior), starting right tackle for 11 games
A.J. Greene (Senior), starting right tackle for three games
John Sullen (Junior), Mosley’s back-up; started one game in 2009
Blake Burgess (Sophomore), Pugh’s back-up
Jared Cooper (Senior), spare back-up
Andre Harris (Sophomore), spare back-up

Mosley will be penciled in as a starting tackle (left or right, depending on the amount of faith O-line coach Jeff Grimes has in the former junior college tight end). Greene, if he’s able to participate in spring practice following a season-ending ankle injury last September 18, should be the opposite tackle. If not, count on Sullen to move up. Between Mosley, Greene, and Sullen – three players that do have starting experience – the Tigers will have a bona fide starting battle going on in spring practice. Joining the battle for the remaining spots will be several players that were redshirted in 2010:

Eric Mack (Redshirt Freshman), projected as a guard
Chad Slade (Redshirt Freshman), projected as a tackle
Tunde Fariyike (Redshirt Freshman), projected as a center
Ed Christian (Redshirt Freshman), projected as a guard

Three newly-signed Tigers will take the field in March/April after enrolling early:

Reese Dismukes (Freshman), can play guard or center
Thomas O’Reilly (Freshman), projected as a guard
Shon Coleman (Freshman), projected as a tackle

Big Shon is expected to redshirt the 2010 season as he works to put weight back on following chemotherapy, meaning Slade and possibly Harris will be the only tackles battling the Mosley-Greene-Sullen combo. Here’s what the depth chart for both tackle spots will resemble following spring practice, purely based on The Jungle Cat’s thoughts:

Left Tackle
Brandon Mosley
Chad Slade
Andre Harris

Right Tackle
A.J. Greene
John Sullen
Andre Harris

The guards and center positions will be more staggering battles to watch. Ultimately, the center position depends on whether or not Dismukes, rated as the top high school center in 2010 by ESPN, gets moved to guard. Burgess came to Auburn as a preferred walk-on, while Fariyike was a 2010 Signing Day back-up plan that was forced to come to fruition. Though Fariyike has the smarts to man the center position – he’s the son of a doctor that had Duke atop his list before the Tigers came calling – he might be pure depth as far as sheer talent goes. Dismukes, for all intents and purposes, could step foot on the AU campus and immediately be the starter at center.

For this drill, we’re going to make two center projections and two guard projections, with Dismukes lining up as a center and as a guard.

Here’s what the center depth chart should look like following spring practice, if Dismukes stays as center:

Center (with Dismukes)
Reese Dismukes
Blake Burgess
Tunde Fariyike

If Grimes moves Dismukes to one of the guard spots, though simple enough, here’s what it would look like:

Center (without Dismukes)
Blake Burgess
Tunde Fariyike

Dismukes moving to guard would throw a major wrench into the position battle. He would go up against Cooper, Mack, Christian, and O’Reilly. Cooper has system experience on his side, but as a third-string option at guard last year, his actual playing time isn’t much better than Mack and Christian, who red-shirted in 2010. With Dismukes as a guard, the depth chart takes form in this manner:

Left Guard (with Dismukes)
Reese Dismukes
Ed Christian
Jared Cooper

Right Guard (without Dismukes)
Eric Mack
Thomas O’Reilly
Jared Cooper

With Dismukes as a center, here’s how it could look:

Left Guard (without Dismukes)
Eric Mack
Thomas O’Reilly

Right Guard (without Dismukes)
Ed Christian
Jared Cooper

Personally, The Jungle Cat hopes that Dismukes gets moved to guard, for depth purposes, rather than the more sexy idea of having him play center. That said, Blake Burgess’s development is going to be crucial during spring practice.

The guard and center spots, however they shake out with Dismukes, will likely carry over to the fall. The same can’t be said for the tackle positions since two freshmen will join the Tigers and are expected to have an immediate impact:

Greg Robinson (Freshman), projected as a tackle
Christian Westerman (Freshman), projected as a tackle

How will the two kids adjust to being a tackle in the SEC? They won’t have to immediately. They might even be redshirt candidates since The Jungle Cat has projected two seniors to be the starting tackles in 2011. Here’s how it will likely look in the fall after Robinson and Westerman join:

Left Tackle
Brandon Mosley
Christian Westerman
Chad Slade

Right Tackle
A.J. Greene
Greg Robinson
John Sullen

It would be tough for Westerman and Robinson to beat out two returning seniors who started in 2010, but it isn’t out of the question that Slade and Sullen could be edged out.

By The Jungle Cat’s standards, Auburn will trot out a starting O-line consisting of Mosley, Dismukes, Burgess, Mack, and Greene in the opener vs. Utah State. That might not be the starting front five come the Iron Bowl, but as the spring and summer move forward, that’s a likely estimation of how the Tigers will replace a stout line from the 2010 season.

The Jungle Cat is an online magazine dedicated to Auburn Tigers Football, written by David Smith.