Dillon Wade on the offseason progression of the Auburn football OL

Just like most of the other position groups on the Auburn football team, the offensive line corps welcomed many new faces to their group during this past offseason.

Managing the roster and working on recruiting were the top priorities for new head coach Hugh Freeze, and he quickly zeroed in on the o-line as a position group of need. Multiple offensive lineman recruits either flipped to or decided to choose Auburn football with a new coaching staff and the allure of early playing time.

Next the staff looked to the transfer portal, where they found many of the players that are expected to start along the line of scrimmage this fall, including Avery Jones, Gunner Britton, and Dillon Wade. While many of the new players are having to learn the tempo and the schemes expected of them in Philip Montgomery’s offense, Wade and fellow transfer Jaden Muskrat both have experience playing in this system as guys who played for Montgomery when he was head coach at Tulsa.

However, Wade admitted himself that there is still room for improvement, and that the group as a whole is learning a lot from offensive line coach Jake Thornton,per Auburn Undercover:

"“The summer, I was a little raw,” Wade said. “I tried to play with athleticism. Now, in fall camp, we’re focusing more on technique. My technique has definitely improved. Learning how to stay lateral and square. Coach Thornton is doing a good job teaching us all to stay square and not give up our edge. And just play football.“Spring, it was a little rough. 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.”"

This is music to Auburn football fans’ ears after watching the Tigers’ offensive line struggle in all situations for the past few seasons, and it’s true that the o-line is getting a lot of pre-season hype from staff and players alike. Though it is still the offseason, here’s hoping to see an offensive line that has come together during fall camp and is capable of blocking the best of the SEC.