Auburn Buck linebacker Jalen McLeod’s eyes got huge the second the words came out of the reporter’s mouth.

The question was in regards to offensive lineman Percy Lewis, who transferred in from Mississippi State during the offseason.

“You saw my face?,” McLeod joked. “Yeah, he’s going to help us a lot, because his size, his athleticism — the size he has and how athletically he can move his feet, that every day is going to help all of us.”

Lewis, who comes to Auburn as a senior, is listed as 6-foot-7 and 355 pounds.

And according to Lewis himself, that second number could swell if he isn’t careful as he’s started getting a taste of local eats around the Auburn area.

“We go out to eat. We just like to eat, man,” Lewis quipped when asked about bonding with others along the offensive front. “We like to go out and eat every other day. Man, I’ve got to lose weight I can’t keep going out like this.”

For guys like McLeod and others on Auburn’s defense, practicing against Lewis is good prep for SEC play as many offensive linemen in the league will rival Lewis’ size.

Rival, though — not beat.

“He’s bigger than Bama tackles,” McLeod said. “And he’s more athletic than them. And he’s long, so he’s going to bring a lot on that blind side. He’s going to help Payton (Thorne) throwing a lot.”

After starting his college career in the junior college ranks, Lewis went on to work his way into a starting role at Mississippi State, where he appeared in 25 games and made eight starts across his two seasons in Starkville.

The good news is Lewis comes with SEC experience — something that shouldn’t be taken for granted, especially in the trenches.

The draw back is the bulk of Lewis’ experience came from an Air Raid offense, which Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze says is “quite different” from what he’ll be asked to do on The Plains.

But Lewis feels he’s ready to be plugged in.

“Only thing different is I’d just say the play-action. But I’ve really got that down,” Lewis said of the transition away from an Air Raid-style offense. “It ain’t nothing major, I adjusted to it well.”

Since Mississippi State threw the football so much, run blocking is something Lewis did a lot of. And he’s missed that.

“You get to hit somebody. You love to see somebody fall,” Lewis said of run blocking. “Love to hit somebody and see them fall on the ground. It just gets exciting.”

And it’s that kind of attitude that Freeze couldn’t help but gush about when asked about Lewis two weeks ago.

“I love his demeanor. He’s just one of those country boys that drove a bulldozer and motorcycles,” Freeze said, later joking that he wasn’t sure how someone Lewis’ size got on a motorcycle.

Now at Auburn and working towards being a critical piece of the Tigers’ rebuilding offensive line, Freeze told Lewis he’s gotta stay away from the motorcycles from here on out.

And Lewis assured him he wouldn’t have to worry.

“He said, ‘Oh coach, I’ve tasted that asphalt many a times.’ I said, ‘You need to stay off of that,’” Freeze said. “He’s just a fun kid to be around.”

A fun, really big kid to be around.

“Let me tell you, Percy is a big human being. He moves a lot better than you give him credit for,” Freeze said. “I was really impressed with his first practice and the way he bends and moves.”