Since arriving in November as Auburn head coach, Hugh Freeze has been a man of his word. He inherited a team that was in need of starters at four of the five offensive line positions. Jeremiah Wright, Jalil Irwin, Kam Stutts, and Tate Johnson carried the most experience of the unit.

Most observers expected Wright to be a starter at one of the guard positions, but losing Nick Brahms, Austin Troxell, Brandon Council, and Alec Jackson to graduation left Freeze and new offensive line coach Jake Thornton in for a rebuild. Johnson was starting center after Brahms got hurt during fall camp and will likely be the starting right guard with Wright at left.

Freeze knew he had to work quickly to get close to having the 16 offensive linemen he prefers to carry on his roster in the spring.

“We need the most help on O-line; we’re continuing to develop that. We still need a few more o-line, Freeze said after December’s National Signing Day. “We tried to focus on big men. I think this is a big man league. If you don’t have guys on both sides up front, then it’s very difficult for these athletic receivers, running backs, and quarterbacks.”

Picking up former Tulsa lineman Jaden Muskrat this past Monday marked the fourth player to join the Tigers from the transfer portal. Muskrat played right tackle for Tulsa, where Auburn offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery was the head coach last season. Muskrat also played at Tulsa with left tackle Dillion Wade. Getting two linemen with intimate knowledge of Montgomery’s system hopes to breed continuity.

Gunnar Britton (Western Kentucky) and Avery Jones (Western Kentucky) also showed themselves as promising starters in the spring. Britton started at left tackle and was second team All-Conference USA player for the Hilltoppers.

Jones veteran experience at center excites Montgomery.

“He’s not being surprised by a lot of the different looks that we’re getting from our defense right now, which has been great,” Montgomery told reporters during spring football. “A guy that can handle those duties, can make a lot of calls. As a quarterback getting good snaps and knowing where those things are going to be, especially in the game that we want to play in the RPO system. You know, you start spraying snaps all over the place, and then that’s going to affect the way you run your offense.”

Izavion Miller was one of the most coveted junior college transfers and should be in the Tigers rotation at either tackle spot. Connor Lew, Clay Wedin, and Bradyn Joiner enrolled early as freshmen and gained a head start on reps in the spring.

Freeze and offensive line coach Jake Thornton’s quick work took Auburn from wondering if they’d have enough linemen for spring practice to entering fall camp a bit more at ease.

Freeze won’t be satisfied with the rebuild until he sees how the group plays together in games. However, he did acknowledge she unit’s growth since he became the head coach.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re going to have a decent offensive line. In this league, you can have a decent one and still look bad at times because the defensive lines are so talented. But there’s no question in my mind we’ve made improvements from last year to this year.

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.