One of the biggest questions surrounding Auburn this offseason has yielded some promising answers as the team rolls toward its annual A-Day spring game.

The Tigers’ retooled offensive line, featuring a trio of Group of Five transfers, has taken shape during spring practices — leaving Hugh Freeze and his offensive staff feeling much better about the position group than they did when Freeze was hired at the end of November.

“Offensive line, I think, has been a real positive surprise throughout the spring,” offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery said this week. “I think the guys that we’ve been able to add to that room have made an impact.”

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Auburn’s offensive line play has left plenty to be desired in recent years. It has been a combination of misses on the recruiting trail — both in terms of prospects the previous coaching staffs were unable to land and number of overall additions to the room — and underdevelopment of the players on the roster. The result was oftentimes underwhelming play from the offensive line, whether in pass protection or run blocking, and an uneven scholarship distribution that left the group with several holes to fill this offseason following the departures of six seniors and the transfer of a junior with starting experience.

When Freeze and Co. took over the program, Auburn had just eight scholarship offensive linemen on the roster. Getting those numbers back up was a priority, and one that was promptly addressed through the transfer portal and the 2023 class.

Auburn added eight offensive linemen for the upcoming season (the most in a single cycle since Gene Chizik signed seven in 2012), landing four high school signees (the most prep linemen signed by the program since 2015), a top-rated junior college prospect in Izavion Miller and a trio of plug-and-play transfers: offensive tackles Dillon Wade (Tulsa) and Gunner Britton (Western Kentucky) and center Avery Jones (Eastern Carolina).

It’s the three experienced transfers who have provided the biggest boost this spring, as Jones has assumed the first-team job at center in a group that also includes Wade at left tackle and Britton at right tackle. They have typically been joined by Jeremiah Wright (left guard) and Tate Johnson (right guard) in the first rotation as Auburn sorts out its depth chart along the line for this fall.

“Those guys are really starting to mesh as a unit,” Montgomery said. “I think coach (Jake) Thornton’s done a great job with them. Right now, those guys to me are still our strength and that’s where you want it to be, in my opinion, as you start building an offense or a team it all starts in the trenches. Those guys jelling and coming together, getting on the same page is going to be a positive move for us.”

The transition for Wade, Britton and Jones has been seemingly seamless — and a welcome development, considering each player’s level of experience.

Wade’s move to the SEC has probably been the easiest considering he played under Montgomery at Tulsa and is already familiar with his system, even as Montgomery works to meld his philosophy with Freeze’s. He started 16 games for Tulsa the last two years, including every outing at left tackle last fall before opting to transfer as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the portal. Britton spent five seasons at WKU and started 18 games, including all 14 for the Hilltoppers last season. He entered the portal as the sixth-rated tackle on the market before signing with Auburn in January.

Then there’s Jones, a former four-star recruit who started his career at UNC but spent the last three seasons at ECU, where he started 32 games for the Pirates before hitting the portal this offseason as the top-rated center on the market.

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“He’s taken a lot of snaps,” Montgomery said. “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. 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.

“I think his veteran presence in there has been really significant and will continue to be that way.”

All three of those additions — along with the signing of Miller and freshmen early enrollees Connor Lew, Clay Wedin and Bradyn Joiner — have not only helped replenish some of the numbers in the trenches for Auburn but infused the unit with a fresh wave of talent and experience. As Montgomery pointed out, the Tigers are more athletic up front than they were just a few months ago. The group’s approach throughout the spring has also impressed Montgomery, who wants to see that continue through the final handful of practices and A-Day as he, Thornton and Freeze try to put more on their plates heading into the offseason.

Simply put, Auburn’s coaches want to see them “continue to keep raising the bar” this offseason and see what results that will yield come fall. At this point, at least, one thing is certain to Freeze.

“They have absolutely improved us,” Freeze said. “We won’t know until the fall if — did we close the gap far enough to be able to compete with the elite in this league? We won’t know that until the fall. But there’s no question in my mind that they improved us, and I’m pleased with how they’re going about their business.”

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