AU O-line in good shape; defensive line looking for bodies

By Collin Mickle

Published: February 21, 2008

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of position-by-position previews of the Auburn football team heading into spring practice, which begins Sunday.

With all five starters returning from last season’s offensive line, Auburn line coach Hugh Nall must be in for an easy spring practice, right?

Not so fast, Nall says.

Sure, having tackles Lee Ziemba and Ryan Pugh, guards Tyronne Green and Chaz Ramsey and center Jason Bosley back together for another year is an advantage. Nall can’t remember another time in his 27-year coaching career he’s had the same five starters in consecutive years.

But while Nall is looking forward to the experience, there’s still room for improvement. That’s the goal of spring practice.

“It should be nice,” he said. “They still haven’t played all that much football together — there’s a lot of room for them to improve.”

Ziemba, who started every game at right tackle as a true freshman in 2007, will move to left tackle this spring. Nall says he’s best suited to that position.

“We’re going to have a right-handed quarterback, and moving Lee gives us more size on the quarterback’s blind side,” Nall said. “I didn’t want to move him around last year, because I wanted him to focus on one position. But I think he can handle the left side.”

Pugh, who started six games at left tackle, moves to the right.

Everyone else remains in the same position. But Nall doesn’t want his linemen getting too comfortable.

“We’ll go in with the same starters we ended up with, but it’s going to be wide open,” he said. “I’m really hoping some of these other guys, who certainly have some talent, will step up and try to make a statement with some playing time.”

The second five — tackles Andrew McCain and Jared Cooper, guards Byron Isom and Bart Eddins and center Mike Berry — will push all five starters. But barring injuries, all five starters should return in the same roles.

Nall believes another year of experience will be especially valuable for the sophomore trio of Ziemba, Pugh and Ramsey. All three enjoyed solid freshman seasons, but Nall expects even more this year.

“I was most impressed with the way they played,” he said. “Their mentality, their tempo, their aggressiveness, how they didn’t let serious situations rattle them.

“They’ve got a long way to go, but I thought they played well for their first year. We’ve got some experience and some talent we can build on and keep getting better.”

New faces on D-line
While Nall’s starting lineup is all but set — barring a spring-practice upset — defensive tackles coach Don Dunn faces a tougher situation.

Auburn must replace its two leading tacklers on the interior defensive line: Senior noseguard Josh Thompson and junior defensive tackle Pat Sims.

And Dunn doesn’t have many options. The Tigers have just four available defensive tackles: Juniors Sen’Derrick Marks and Jake Ricks and sophomores Zach Clayton and Mike Blanc.

“We’ve got a big void to fill,” Dunn said. “We’ve got some good young kids, but the biggest concern we have is, we don’t have enough experience.

“We really don’t have any. They all played some, but they didn’t play a lot.”

Marks, the likely starter at the defensive tackle spot, spent last season at defensive end, though he started 13 games at tackle as a redshirt freshman in 2006. Ricks, Clayton and Blanc played sparingly as reserves behind Thompson and Sims in ‘07.

“It’s going to be interesting,” Dunn said. “We’ve got to get them a lot of reps.”

Marks and Ricks will begin spring practice as the first-teamers at defensive tackle and noseguard, respectively. But Clayton and Blanc will also see plenty of action.

At the moment, AU doesn’t have another scholarship defensive tackle on the roster. There’s a chance one or more reserve defensive ends could move inside, and signee Freddie Smooth could contribute in the fall. But for now, Dunn will make do with a four-man rotation.

“We can play with four,” he said. “If they stay healthy, that’s plenty.

“There’s no reason to make excuses or cry about it, because those other guys aren’t coming back. We’ll be OK. It might get a little rough early, but we’ve just got to get that experience.”

The depth situation is better at defensive end, where junior Antonio Coleman returns after an outstanding sophomore season. Coleman will start at the left end position, backed up by sophomore Antoine Carter.

The depth chart at the right end spot — where Marks started every game last season — is less clear. Sophomore Michael Goggans, who had a big spring last year, will head into the spring as the starter.

But redshirt freshman A.J. Greene, who has bulked up to around 270 pounds, will push Goggans.

Junior-college signee Raven Gray, who underwent knee surgery last season, won’t participate in contact drills this spring. But Gray, who was rated a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, could claim the starting job in fall practice.

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