During SEC Media Days in July, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze told reporters he felt good about the state of the Tigers’ offensive line.

“We should be good there,” Freeze said.

Considering three of Auburn’s five initial starters along the offensive front from last year’s team had run out of eligibility, Freeze’s comments may have come as a bit of a surprise.

Instead, however, the remarks were a testament to the work Freeze and his staff had done both in the transfer portal and on the recruiting trail to shore up Auburn’s offensive line.

Here’s a breakdown of the big guys up front heading into the 2024 season:

The projected starters

Beginning with those who return as key pieces along Auburn’s offensive line in 2024, we look at the center, left guard, right guard and right tackle spots.

After taking over the starting job a little more than midway through the 2023 season, sophomore Connor Lew is a shoo-in to be the Tigers’ starting center this coming fall.

“He’s the total package,” Auburn offensive line coach Jake Thornton said of Lew. “He’s our leader, he’s a team leader. Absolutely, just a phenomenal human being, too. He’s certainly lived up to expectations in every way and exceeded them.”

To the left of him will be senior Dillon Wade, who transferred in from Tulsa ahead of the 2022 season and started at left tackle in all but one game.

This year, however, Wade will be sliding over to the left guard spot — a position Thornton thinks fits him better.

“Although I thought he did a good job at tackle, he’s more fit to play guard here and at the next level,” Thornton said.

At right guard, Auburn has junior Jeremiah Wright primed for a starting role in 2024 after appearing in every game as a reserve guard last fall.

With Wright, him being able to go through his first spring camp being fully healthy did him wonders.

“First full year we’ve had with him because he didn’t practice in the spring of ‘23, so he’s a little behind going into camp last year and didn’t get as much reps as he wanted,” Thornton said of Wright. “Credit to Jeremiah. He was not where he wanted to be last year, he took initiative of that. Got himself in shape, got himself on the same mental page as everybody else in terms of the playbook and now the physicality part has always been there.”

Then there’s Izavion ‘Too Tall’ Miller, who is set for Year 2 of being the Tigers’ starting right tackle.

Having transferred in from the JUCO ranks prior to last season, there was certainly an adjustment period as he got his first taste of SEC football.

And heading into the offseason, the biggest focus in remedying that was getting Miller to put on weight, which Thornton says he’s done.

“That was really the only thing really missing in his game last year. And you can probably tell sometimes, kind of getting overpowered. Now he has that year in the weight room to back that up,” Thornton said of Miller. “Always been excited about him, but I think his best ball is ahead of him here and at the next level.”

Rounding out Auburn’s starting offensive line is likely to be a new face.

Desperately needing to add an experienced offensive lineman to help offset the losses of their three starters from 2023, the Tigers hit big (literally) in January as Mississippi State transfer tackle Percy Lewis committed to Auburn.

The addition of the 6-foot-7, 355-pound Lewis was what allowed Wade to bump back over to the guard spot, as Lewis, with his two years of SEC experience, is set to be Auburn’s starting left tackle.

However, Thornton admits coaching someone that big comes with its challenges.

“He is a unique body because he’s so big and so broad that some of the techniques I teach maybe to the more athletic body types, the smaller body types don’t fit for him, so just trying to find that mesh of what can work for him,” Thornton said.

The reserves

Anyone who knows a lick about football should understand the importance of having valuable depth along the offensive line, where every play is a collision.

Fortunately for the Tigers, they’ve got a bit of depth along the offensive front — and some versatile depth at that.

Junior offensive lineman Jaden Muskrat could be a guy that isn’t getting enough attention.

After transferring from Tulsa ahead of the 2023 season, Muskrat appeared in every game for Auburn in 2024 and has proven throughout his career that he can play at both guard and tackle spots.

Meanwhile, Tate Johnson and Tyler Johnson are two others who are likely to be rotational pieces this fall.

While Tate Johnson is likely Auburn’s No. 2 center, Tyler Johnson is a name that has come up frequently through the course of spring and fall camp for his work at left tackle.

“Tyler Johnson, I can’t speak more about his growth over the last year — mentally, physically,” Thornton said. “He’s strong at the point of contact, really good body quickness. We’re going to count on him at some point. And he’s doing a really good job.”

Meanwhile, Seth Wilfred is another reserve piece the Tigers have in their pocket and one they could really cash in on in 2024.

Rated inside the top-five of JUCO offensive linemen for the 2024 cycle, Wilfred arrived at Auburn in January and appeared to work in as the second-string right tackle during spring camp.

Behind him are a handful of greener offensive linemen in guys like Akron transfer Ronan Chambers, sophomore EJ Harris, redshirt freshman Clay Wedin, redshirt freshman Dylan Senda, redshirt freshman Bradyn Joiner and true freshman DeAndre Carter, who was a top-10 interior offensive linemen in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

“We use depth chart lightly around here during fall camp, but, you know, you don’t really tell much difference between the ones and twos and then some of the threes as well,” Thornton said. “You don’t really tell much difference when they’re out there on the field, they’re all executing.”