Auburn football: This surprise OL could win starting left tackle role

Killian Zierer’s time with Auburn football has not gone exactly to plan, but the offensive lineman is steadily improving and could have his best season yet in 2022.

Zierer’s football career began in his home country of Germany in 2016, then continued when the lineman enrolled at College of the Canyons, a junior college in Santa Clarita, California, where he played for two years in preparation for an opportunity at a bigger school on a bigger team.

He committed to Auburn football in 2019, but his plan to get on the field immediately was scrapped when he tore his ACL before arriving on the Plains. Zierer spent the 2020 season rehabbing his knee but earned playing time in 2021 as a backup offensive tackle and started against Arkansas and in the final three games of the Tigers’ season.

Although the transition from JUCO to the SEC was a struggle early on, Tom Green of AL.com reports that 2022 could be the year that Zierer finally reaches his full potential and earns a starting role for the Tigers:

"“My knee is as good as it’s ever been since the surgery,” Zierer said. “So, I’d say I’m doing much, much better now than I did two years ago from now. But it’s been a process. It took a while to get used to how the knee feels and then asked to switch around on the left and right side, it took a while, but I feel the most confident right now.”"

Zierer has built a strong relationship and learned a lot from offensive line coach Will Friend, who called Zierer Auburn football’s “best pass protector” and lauded his athletic ability. Zierer has spent the spring competing with returning starter Austin Troxell for the starting job at left tackle and has been putting in the work while a number of the Tigers’ OL starters are operating in a limited capacity due to injuries.

Though it’s far too early to declare starting lineups for Auburn football in 2022, this could be the season that Killian Zierer makes his name known.