Auburn’s first spring under Hugh Freeze is in the books. The Tigers wrapped up their spring practices Saturday with A-Day — a rain-shortened scrimmage that ended in a 24-24 tie.

While the Tigers went head-to-head, offense vs. defense, for three quarters at Jordan-Hare Stadium to culminate spring, it was hardly the only competition within the program this spring. Several position battles waged through the spring, and while some produced clear favorites after 15 practices, others will continue into the offseason months and be settled during fall camp.

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At the team’s first practice at the end of February, AL.com took a look at five position battles to keep an eye on this spring. Now that spring is over, let’s revisit those battles and see how things shook out over the last six weeks:

1. Quarterback

A trio of returning quarterbacks vied for reps this spring, and while Robby Ashford entered the spring as the first quarterback in the rotation and ended it with the first-team offense on A-Day, this competition is far from over. Freeze said as much multiple times throughout the spring, reiterating that the summer months will be a critical part of each quarterback’s development — as a player and as a team leader — and the job will remain up for grabs heading into fall camp.

Exiting the spring, though, it’s hard not to handicap Ashford as the leader in the clubhouse. He started the final nine games of the season last fall, and while he completed just 49.2 percent of his passes and had as many touchdowns (seven) as interceptions, he’s a dynamic athlete whose skillset at this moment is best suited to run the RPO-heavy system Freeze and Philip Montgomery are installing. Throughout the spring, Ashford was the quarterback most often seen with the first-team offense — save for a stretch in the middle when he was nursing a shoulder injury and Holden Geriner was seen with the first teamers — and it probably says something about his comfort level within the offense that he was the first one out there on A-Day too.

Ashford has had his inconsistencies this spring, though, as have T.J. Finley and Geriner. Freeze has been blunt with his assessments of the quarterbacks’ struggles, likewise with the positive steps they have taken. He also hasn’t ruled out adding another quarterback to the fold during the post-spring transfer window when it opens Saturday (and runs through April 30) — if he can find the right fit. If Auburn brings in another contender for the job this offseason, it could shake up the makeup of the room, with Finley expressing uncertainty about whether he’d accept a backup role if the Tigers bring in someone else. That’s a discussion to be had between him and Freeze, though, if Auburn gets to that crossroads.

2. Both offensive tackle spots

Auburn hit the offseason needing to replace all three players who started at tackle along the line last season — Austin Troxell, Kilian Zierer and Brenden Coffey — and underwent an overhaul of personnel up front after Freeze took the job at the end of November. The Tigers quickly worked to retool and rebuild the offensive line this offseason, adding eight new players up front, seven of whom were on campus for spring practices.

While there was an influx of new talent in the offensive line room, the battle for the starting tackle spots proved to be rather anticlimactic, as a pair of transfers quickly assimilated themselves into the starting roles. Dillon Wade, a transfer from Tulsa who has previous experience in Montgomery’s offense, settled in at left tackle. Gunner Britton, a transfer from Western Kentucky, staked his claim to the starting job at right tackle. Both were mainstays with the first-team offense throughout the spring, including on A-Day, and it seems safe to say that they’ll be manning those spots when the season opens in September against UMass.

Both bring some welcome experience to Auburn’s offensive line — a unit that wound up being a pleasant surprise this spring. Wade started 16 games at Tulsa the last two seasons, including each one last fall at left tackle for the Golden Hurricane. Britton spent five seasons at WKU and made 18 starts, including 14 last season.

3. JACK linebacker

This remains a position to keep an eye on this offseason and during fall camp, as Freeze has noted that Auburn is “deficient in true pass-rushers” and could seek out another edge rusher in the post-spring transfer window. Over the course of Auburn’s 15 spring practices, though, it was a pair of newcomers who were the first two in line at the JACK linebacker spot: Vanderbilt transfer Elijah McAllister and true freshman Keldric Faulk.

McAllister brings ample SEC experience to Auburn’s defensive front, having played in 36 games with 12 starts during his five seasons at Vanderbilt, where he was a two-time team captain. Faulk, meanwhile, presents promising upside to the position after being one of the major standouts from either side of the ball this spring. The 6-foot-6, 275-pounder certainly has the build of an ideal edge rusher, and he seemingly has the skillset and the mindset to back it up, with teammates describing him as a “monster” who has Auburn excited about his potential. Faulk even got some first-team reps on A-Day, which could bode well for his prospects come fall.

4. Outside receiver

Auburn had to replace a lot of experience at the X-position in last year’s offense following the graduation of Shedrick Jackson. Though Jackson started 26 of the 53 games he played in over five seasons, he was never a go-to option in the passing game. Auburn is looking to change that with its outside receivers this season,

The two players we identified to keep an eye on this spring were sophomore Camden Brown and transfer Nick Mardner — two of the Tigers’ bigger receivers with impressive catch radii. Brown was limited for much of the spring due to an ankle injury, but when he was out there, the 6-foot-3 sophomore impressed, just as he did last fall upon arriving at Auburn. Mardner, a 6-foot-6 transfer from Cincinnati who previously played under wide receivers coach Marcus Davis at Hawaii in 2021, was frequently seen with the first-team offense throughout the spring. That included A-Day, when Brown again was held out for precautionary reasons.

Both receivers should have roles this season, as Freeze wants to rotate eight receivers this season. Given his upside and natural ability, though, Brown should still be considered the favorite to emerge as Auburn’s top outside threat heading into fall camp.

5. Center

Another position battle that didn’t exactly pack much drama this spring. Auburn lost its two most experienced centers from last season (Nick Brahms and Brandon Council), and it quickly replaced them with another experienced option to anchor the middle of the offensive line: Eastern Carolina transfer Avery Jones.

Like fellow transfers Wade and Britton, Jones quickly established himself as the top option at his position on Auburn’s retooled offensive line. Jones, who started his career at North Carolina, was a fixture on ECU’s offensive line the last three seasons, starting 32 games at center during that stretch. Now he’s slotting into the starting job there for Auburn, which has allowed Tate Johnson — who started last season at center before an elbow injury ended his year early — to shift over and compete for one of the starting spots at guard.

With the additions of plug-and-play veterans like Jones, Wade and Britton up front, combined with some of the returning experience Auburn has in the trenches, Freeze exited spring “cautiously optimistic” about the state of the Tigers’ offensive line for 2023.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.