Auburn Loss to Vanderbilt Highlights Importance of OL Recruiting

It's been a while since Auburn fielded a dominant offensive line, but help is on the way.

Auburn Tigers commitment Broderick Shull of Bixby, Okla. / Brian Smith-Auburn Daily

Auburn fans were unhappy about the 17-7 loss to Vanderbilt, and the offensive line was a prime concern. It was also not a shock based on the recent history of Auburn football but help should be on the way.

The Tigers struggled to recruit top offensive linemen for years. Hugh Freeze arrived on the Plains and has started to improve the talent via prep recruiting. More on that down below, but that fact was not helping this past Saturday. 

Despite Vanderbilt’s rush defense being undersized, the Commodores out-hustled the Tigers. What’s worse, Vandy displayed better athleticism than Auburn in the trenches based on watching its players shoot gaps and create havoc. Vanderbilt notched 7 tackles for loss and 3 sacks against the Tigers. Statistics aside, there was another concern.

Just from the eye test, Auburn’s offensive front was often pushed back or had apparent mental errors with Commodores coming free that led to rushing attempts being stymied before the play hardly got started. It was disturbing to see the Auburn offensive line fail so often. 

For the game, Auburn ran 29 times for 88 yards. But wait, how did that happen after the Kentucky performance?

Jarquez Hunter had just run roughshod over the Wildcats for 278 yards. He was the SEC’s leading rusher before the Vanderbilt game. Overall, Auburn appeared to have fixed its rushing attack. Here’s what Auburn on SI’s own Daniel Locke wrote after that game against the Wildcats:

“An improved showing by the Auburn Tigers’ offensive line was a key factor in picking a win over Kentucky last week.

It allowed running back Jarquez Hunter to rush for 278 yards, obliterating his previous career high of 183 yards that he set in Auburn’s 2023 win over Vanderbilt.”

Maybe that was just an aberration or Auburn’s scheme which gave UK fits? Hunter rushed 12 times for 50 yards against Vandy. It has been hard to understand how the offensive line gashed Kentucky and was porous versus Vanderbilt.  That’s where the eye in the sky comes into play.

There’s plenty of film of Auburn’s rushing attack. Many of Auburn’s runs are power-based with inside zone calls. That showed to be a limitation based on how the Commodores stuffed the Tigers over and over. Even after halftime, the Tigers had no answers to being whipped in the first stanza.

Few adjustments were made after an embarrassing 12-yards rushing from the third and fourth quarters combined.

You read that correctly, 12 yards rushing. Auburn’s fourth-quarter rushing equated to -3 yards, which was more ridiculous. Now it’s time to discuss Auburn’s offensive line talent.

There’s not been a go-to offensive lineman that’s dominated this season. Not having a player to hang one’s hat on has been a problem for the Tigers. Perhaps the growing pains have concluded or at least soon will be over.

One could have pointed to sophomore center Connor Lew as the future. He was inserted into the starting lineup versus Mississippi State last season and has been the starter ever since. Still, he’s not been a dominant player, at least not yet. 

Lew will be on the Plains for two more seasons, and it has been fairly obvious that there’s help from the freshman class and the 2025 recruiting haul. Two players for Auburn’s future were defined.

From the current freshman class, offensive guard DeAndre Carter was Rivals’ No. 97 recruit overall. He showcased the frame of a typically SEC interior offensive lineman while watching him inside Jordan-Hare during pregame warmups and during media viewing sessions from Auburn practices. In high school, Carter was a bull in a china shop for traditional national powerhouse Mater Dei (Calif.) and should be a player competing for starting minutes next season.

From Auburn’s 2025 recruiting class, offensive tackle Broderick Shull has shown to be a beast on film as he’s been a dominant player for Bixby (Okla.) High School. He was selected as On3’s #27 recruit, too. Shull has been a pure offensive tackle and it wouldn’t be shocking if he at least competed for playing time next year. 

Auburn’s offensive line struggled against Vanderbilt. That’s not been in question, but at least there are reasons to believe it will be better come 2025.