Does lack of continuity on the offensive line explain Auburn’s trouble last season?
As the saying goes, numbers don’t lie.
Auburn didn’t have the sharpest offense in 2022, ranking 73rd in total offense and 78th in sacks allowed.
A graphic put out by CFB Graphs (@statsowar on Twitter) Thursday, could point to the root of the issue.
When looking at the continuity of the Tigers’ offensive line in 2022, the numbers aren’t impressive. A higher the continuity score means more offensive snaps were concentrated in fewer players. A lower score means more diversity was needed to field an offensive line.
And of every Power 5 football team in the country, Auburn came in at No. 69 — or dead last.
According to CFB Graphs, Auburn came in at just 35.6%. Leading the nation was UCLA at 74.5%. Alabama came in at No. 14 at 67.1%.
Thanks to injuries and a season-long struggle to fit together the right puzzle pieces, 10 different offensive linemen saw at least 150 snaps of action in 2022.
The good news? First-year head coach Hugh Freeze and the Tigers’ coaching staff has prioritized beefing up the offensive line and have done so through the transfer portal.
So far, Auburn has added Tulsa transfers Jaden Muskrat and Dillon Wade, East Carolina transfer Avery Jones and Western Kentucky transfer Gunner Britton to its offensive line unit.