Auburn football: 10 players most important to accelerating offense in 2018

Ryan Davis and the Auburn football team had little trouble vs. the Bulldogs last season. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)
Ryan Davis and the Auburn football team had little trouble vs. the Bulldogs last season. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)
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Auburn football
Gus Malzahn wants Jarrett Stidham safe in the pocket and that starts at left tackle where Prince Tega Wanogho looks more prepared to do the job in 2018. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

1.  LT Prince Tega Wanogho

Considered a raw talent with untapped potential when he arrived at Auburn two years ago, Prince Tega Wanogho has played parts of his first two seasons. As a freshman, he played in 10 games as a backup. Last season, he started the first four games of the year before being benched after struggling in pass protection. He found his way back into the starting lineup later in the season and showed signs of improvement.

A former defensive end and tight end in high school, Wanogho is a fantastic athlete for an offensive lineman and J.B. Grimes has been working to take advantage of that. Grimes also won’t hesitate to move another player to left tackle if he thinks that gives Auburn a better chance of winning. He could also move Wanogho to the right side if he thinks that makes the Tigers front better.

But coming out of spring practice, the left side is all Wanogho and Auburn it would be great to see him turn into an elite player and NFL prospect. He has the physical tools to do that.

With the schedule Auburn faces in 2018, Stidham needs to know he has time to hit the open receiver. It starts with Wanogho.