Aug. 29, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- What's better than having five SEC-caliber offensive linemen in your lineup every week? Having seven or even eight players capable of starting on the offensive line.
That was the problem Gus Malzahn and the Auburn coaching staff faced as they sat down and put together the depth chart for Saturday's season opener against Georgia Southern. In terms of problems, though, that was a good one to have.
"The fact [is] that we've got seven or eight guys that we feel good about," Malzahn said at his Tuesday press conference. "It took a little longer then it has in the past to really put the pieces of the puzzle together. Of course, that's a good thing as far as the depth is concerned."
From left to right, the five offensive linemen who will start Saturday are Prince Tega Wanogho, Mike Horton, Austin Golson, Braden Smith and Darius James. But that doesn't mean that players like Wilson Bell and Casey Dunn, both graduate transfers, or Marquel Harrell won't see the field and make an impact during the season.
If anything, the addition of Bell (Florida State) and Dunn (Jacksonville State) to the program created more competition and improved the offensive linemen already on campus.
"There are seven guys that could start at most schools in the SEC on our offensive line," Golson said. "I firmly believe that. And I believe that's going to go a long way with us.
"I know that everybody out there is going to keep giving their best every day because at any given moment, somebody might get nicked up or bruised, and somebody has to jump in. Or if somebody might not be producing as well, we have other guys that are ready to play."
The most surprising name among the starters might be Wanogho, who earned the starting left tackle job despite having played offensive line for only the past two years. As a redshirt freshman in 2016, he played in 10 games, but Saturday will be his first career start for Auburn.
"You would've never thought last spring that he would be as good or in the position he's in right now just because he never had played offensive line, much less played football long," Golson said. "He's probably the most improved guy on our team, and it's not even close."
Both Golson and Malzahn raved about how athletic the 6-foot-7, 301-pound Wanogho is and how far he's come along as a football player since he first arrived at Auburn.
The only limitation for Wanogho at this stage in his career is experience, but between Golson, Smith and James, there's plenty of experience to go around. The trio of seniors has started more than 60 games combined in their collegiate careers, and they all have the flexibility to play at multiple positions. Smith -- who has made 27 consecutive starts since 2014 -- will start out at right guard, but Malzahn expects him to also play right tackle this season.
The key for this group entering Saturday's season opener will be developing chemistry with some of the new and less-experienced players like Wanogho, Horton, James and Dunn.
"They set our starting five for Saturday, but we all have really good chemistry," Golson said. "We're starting to gel and play together at a high level. We just have to keep working and building each week."
Of note, true freshman Calvin Ashley, one of the nation's top-ranked recruits last year, was listed on the two-deep depth chart as the backup right tackle to James despite missing some time during fall camp. Malzahn believes he has the skill set to play immediately if called upon.
Greg Ostendorf is a Staff Writer for AuburnTigers.com.