Auburn transfer: Spring was ‘a little rough’ for OL

Auburn football transfer offensive lineman Dillon Wade recently discussed the collective improvements the blocking unit has made since the spring — noting that before fall camp, things were “a little” rough, but now they are “almost there.”

“Spring, it was a little rough,” Wade said (h/t AL.com). “Fall camp? We’ve come together quite lovely, I’ll say that. We’re almost there. Like a little bit more. A little bit more communication, a little bit more technique and we’re almost there.” Fellow OL transfer Gunner Britton shared a similar sentiment.

“I would say we built something really nice in the spring and to add guys into it,” Britton said. “(Hugh) Freeze talks about it a lot is filling the holes. That’s kind of what I feel like we’ve done over the last six months of recruiting and stuff. Even bringing in guys like me that are ready to play now.”

Dillon Wade on the Auburn football OL’s chemistry

Wade is confident in the Auburn football OL’s chemistry due to the fact that the players are building it on and off the field.

“A bunch of pieces from different places coming together to form one unit,” Wade said of building chemistry. “As much as you are together on the field, you have to be together off the field. We all go out to eat, hang out together and watch film together and bond.”

Having an offensive line that will scratch and claw tooth and nail for each other is vital, and Tiger fans saw firsthand in 2022 what happens when a unit isn’t playing for their head coach or each other. Wade’s words should be music to the ears of the Auburn family, but words don’t open up holes at the line of scrimmage; competent OL play does.

Given the caliber of the transfers Hugh Freeze has reeled in, though, it sounds like there’s a good chance we’ll see that.