Kenneth McManus impressed in his first Auburn football start at right guard, earning the Tigers' best PFF run-blocking grade against Vanderbilt. After Auburn allowed just one sack, Alex Golesh praised McManus' confidence and experience ahead of a difficult road test at Tennessee.
Kenneth McManus got his opportunity for the Auburn Tigers against Vanderbilt with a surprising change to the offensive line this past Saturday.
And it sounds like he did enough with it to earn some confidence from Alex Golesh.
McManus made his first start at right guard after Auburn made changes to an offensive line that allowed seven sacks against Florida.
The result wasn't perfect, but it was certainly better.
McManus stepped up in a big way. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), he was the team's leading offensive lineman in run-blocking grades.
As for the pass attack, Auburn allowed just one sack against Vanderbilt, and Golesh pointed to several reasons for the improvement.
"I thought we had a good plan. I thought the quarterback executed the plan really well," Golesh said.
Golesh noted that five of Florida's sacks came in obvious passing situations when Auburn was playing from behind.
Against Vanderbilt, Auburn stayed on schedule.
"You weren't in that situation where an entire quarter, almost quarter and a half, where you're drop-back passing the entire time," Golesh said. "You could stay on schedule, you can run your offense."
Making changes definitely helped the offense look different, but they still need to improve on it.
"We obviously made some changes up front," Golesh said.
McManus was one of them.
And I think his experience becomes even more important this week against a defensive line that slowed down the top team in the country.
McManus started 10 games in the MAC last season before transferring to Auburn.
That's obviously different from starting at Neyland Stadium, but it can't hurt.
"The more you realize, like the reps, the game experience, you can't substitute," Golesh said.
Golesh said players who have already experienced big games and environments tend to adjust quicker, and McManus apparently looked like somebody who belonged against Vanderbilt.
"He looked confident. He looked comfortable," Golesh said. "And he earned the right to be confident and comfortable just purely because of the experience and then because of the way he's worked."
Auburn still hasn't completely settled its offensive line.
Golesh said Jacob Strand and Jo Simmons continue to rotate at left tackle while Auburn searches for "the right combination."
He wasn't ready Wednesday to say exactly what the starting five will look like against Tennessee.
But McManus appears to have helped himself.
"He's a tough, smart, hardworking cat," Golesh said. "He is what's right right now in terms of how he's approached it."
Tennessee has the defensive front to make Auburn pay if its protection problems return.
And Neyland will be Auburn's first truly hostile road environment under Golesh. A place that he and many of the Tigers new coaching staff are familar with.
It will certainly be interesting to see if McManus gets another shot at improving and, if he does, how much of an impact he will have on a potential upset to start off Auburn's tough October.
