Auburn's offensive line competition is coming down to the wire, and Cole Skinner and Jacob Strand are making their cases. With Tyler Hudanick searching for the right five before Week 1, Auburn's battles in the trenches could be creating more depth than initially expected.
As fall camp moves closer to its completion for the Auburn Tigers, one position battle still continues to work itself out.
Alex Golesh and his offensive coaching staff still have plenty to figure out along the offensive line as they look for the right five players to get the start week one in Atlanta against the Baylor Bears.
As the team looks for the right combination, players like Cole Skinner and Jacob Strand are certainly starting to make things interesting.
The Tigers entered fall camp needing to find the right combination up front, and offensive line coach Tyler Hudanick has made it pretty clear what he's looking for.
Coach Hoodie stated Toughness, Intelligence, Violence and Consistency. And according to him, Cole Skinner continues to check those boxes.
Hudanick called him a violent player and pointed to the energy he brings every day. Skinner also believes Auburn's offensive line should be one of the groups setting the culture for the entire team.
And he's getting plenty of help becoming the player Auburn needs.
Skinner specifically mentioned going against Cody Sigler and Darrion Smith every day in practice and how much Auburn's defensive line is pushing him.
With Smith's quickness that creates problems in Sigler's physicality that helps create multiple different challenges for the Auburn offensive line, it's exactly what they need to ensure they're ready for some of the toughest defensive trenches in college football today.
Jourdin Crawford sees it the same way from the other side.
The sophomore defensive lineman praised Auburn's offensive line for how hard it competes every day and believes the daily battles are making both groups better.
Then there's Strand.
He wasn't able to participate much during the spring because of a shoulder injury, which could have easily put him behind entering fall camp.
Instead, he stayed involved. Now he's battling with Deryc Plaz for a spot on the interior offensive line, one that he appears to be winning heading into the final few days of fall camp.
Skinner revealed that Strand sat beside him during meetings and consistently asked questions despite not being able to practice.
Hudanick praised his intelligence and ability to process information quickly, which becomes extremely important in Auburn's tempo offense.
There is plenty of chatter discussing the concern on Auburn's offensive line as they prepare to play the Baylor Bears in just a few weeks. However, depth seems to be A benefit for this group. The quicker someone stands out and wins the job at left guard, and the tackle positions are solidified, the quicker this offense can focus on the task at hand, and that's winning week one.
Until then, the position battle will continue on as Auburn looks to use iron to sharpen iron until opening kickoff in Atlanta.
