Auburn Tigers Defensive Line Poised for Big Improvement
Much like the offensive line, the Auburn Tigers defensive line is full of new faces as Hugh Freeze and staff brought in experienced transfers while the young talent develops.
Defensive Line – DE, DT, NT and Buck
DE Keldric Faulk, So., 6-6, 288, Returning Starter
Buck Jalen McLeod, Sr., 6-1, 236, Returning Starter
NT Jayson Jones, Sr., 6-6, 355, Returning part-time Starter
DT Quentrail Jamison-Travis, Jr., 6-4, 293, Returning Backup
DE Zykeivous Walker, Jr., 6-4, 291, Returning Backup
DT Darron Reed, RFr., 6-4, 285, Returning Redshirt
NT Trill Carter, Sr., 6-0, 299, Transfer from Texas, January Enrollee
NT Isaiah Raikes, Sr., 6-1, 323, Transfer from Texas A&M/USC, Summer Enrollee
DT Philip Blidi, Sr., 6-3, 284, Transfer from Indiana, Summer Enrollee
DT Gage Keys, Jr., 6-4, 291, Transfer from Kansas, January Enrollee
Buck Keyron Crawford, Jr., 6-4, 245, Transfer from Arkansas State, Summer Enrollee
DE Amaris Williams, TFr., 6-2, 269, January Enrollee
DT Malik Blocton, TFr., 6-3, 291, January Enrollee
DE T.J. Lindsey, TFr., 6-3, 294, January Enrollee
Buck Jamonta Waller, TFr., 6-0, 243, January Enrollee
Buck Joe Phillips, TFr., 6-2, 251, January Enrollee
Departures: Marcus Harris drafted by Houston Texans, Justin Rogers drafted by Dallas Cowboys exhausted eligibility, Lawrence Johnson exhausted eligibility and is Auburn grad assistant, Mosiah Nasili-Kite signed with San Francisco 49ers, Stephen Sings V entered transfer portal, Brenton Williams transferred to Liberty.
It’s only a matter of time before Auburn has a defensive unit that is among the best in the country. Hugh Freeze and staff are in the process of signing prospective student-athletes and gaining commitments from a number of the top defensive lineman and linebackers, but that talent being matched with experience isn’t here yet. The Tigers have an important August and September upcoming to establish identity and versatility up front.
Auburn has relied on the transfer portal the last two off seasons to shore up holes in the trenches on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Six players return from last year’s inconsistent unit – one that was good enough to compete with Georgia and Alabama, but also got shoved around by New Mexico State and Maryland.
New on the sidelines are veteran defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin, who has plenty of successful stops at the helm of solid defensive units, and Vontrell King-Williams who moved up from assistant D-line coach to take over the unit when Jeremy Garrett left to coach in the NFL. Josh Aldridge returns as linebackers coach, but will only work with the Buck position in his assignments.
For the sake of clarity in this series of position breakdowns, the Buck position of outside linebacker slash edge rusher has been included with the defensive line. Because of what offenses are now, a 4-2-5 is probably the most common alignment Auburn will be in this season, with Buck being part of the 4. And even that isn’t clear. Bucks could line up anywhere, defensive ends could be interchangeable with tackles, tackles could line up over the center, and there’s plenty of room for cross-training at numerous positions.
This is AuburnSI's best guess at what a depth chart may look like.
DE K Faulk / A Williams / Z Walker / T Lindsey
DT P Blidi / G Keys / D Reed / M Blocton
NT T Carter / I Raikes / J Jones / Q Jamison-Travis
Buck J McLeod / K Crawford / J Phillips / J Waller
Only a few things are known heading into fall camp: Keldric Faulk, one of Auburn’s representatives at SEC Media Days as a true sophomore, is the leader of the unit and will be counted on to increase his production in year two; Auburn brought in plenty of bodies this off season to find enough who can produce; to take the next step as a football program the defensive line has to be better at stopping the run and creating pressure on the quarterback.
Last season when Auburn lined up with Faulk and Jalen McLeod on the outside with Marcus Harris and Justin Rogers (both 7th-round NFL selections) on the inside, they held their own and got their share of defensive stops. When the backups were in, Auburn struggled.
Faulk and McLeod return, and there are a number of new bodies inside at the nose and tackle spots. Lined up head over center will be big bodies Trill Carter and Isaiah Raikes, from Texas and Texas A&M respectively, to compete inside with returning part-time starter Jayson Jones. Jones has played in 38 career games, 25 at Auburn thus far.
Philip Blidi (Indiana) and Gage Keys (Kansas), are likely to challenge redshirt freshman Darron Reed at the tackle spot. The four transfers mentioned have played in 154 games over their careers before arriving at Auburn.
Harris was fifth on the team with 40 tackles, and led the team with 11.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks, and his play-making will be missed.
Zykeivous Walker has been a reserve lineman at Auburn since signing with the Tigers as a highly-regarded prospect in the 2020 signing class. He looks the part, has 5.5 tackles for loss and 3 career sacks, and the coaches are still hoping for an impact season from him at either tackle or end.
Quentrail Jameson-Travis, a former JUCO transfer who played in three contests last year, is hoping to build on his Music City Bowl performance where he led the team with four tackles. Incoming freshmen Malik Blocton and T.J. Linsdey are possibilities to add value at defensive tackle or end.
McLeod returns for his senior season at Buck and his second year at Auburn. He was slowed last season by injuries, but he was still the best option to get apply pressure off the edge a year ago (10.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks). The lack of depth behind him as been addressed, as Arkansas State transfer Keyron Crawford, a junior who stands in at 6-4, 245, should be the backup if true freshmen don’t preempt those plans. Crawford had identical TFL and sack numbers as McLeod in 2023.
Amaris Williams, Joe Phillips, and Jamonte Waller arrived in January from high school and are going to be difficult to keep off the field for long.
Williams was the 30th-ranked prospect in the country by the 247 Industry Composite, and the second-highest ranked Auburn signee behind receiver Cam Coleman. Phillips and Waller were highly-rated 4-star prospects in their own right. It’s worth mentioning that Williams and Waller were long-time commitments to Florida before flipping to Auburn, and Phillips was thought to be headed to Georgia early in his recruitment. As mentioned earlier, there’s versatility among the line spots, and here’s guessing that the Auburn coaches will find ways to get its most productive players on the field. Williams could be a quicker end on pass-rush situations or a bigger Buck in run situations.
Auburn starts the year with five straight home contests. Alabama A&M on Aug. 31, California on Sept. 7, New Mexico on Sept. 14, Arkansas on Sept. 21, and Oklahoma on Sept. 28. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see 13-14 players get considerable looks versus Alabama A&M and New Mexico, and perhaps against California or Arkansas if things set up for that to happen. In past years Auburn hasn’t had the depth or talent on the defensive line to play well for a full 13-game season. The next two months will be crucial to stay healthy and find 10 (maybe even 12) guys who can play hard on every snap against the likes of Oklahoma, Georgia, Missouri, Texas A&M, and Missouri on the schedule. The easiest defensive game-plan is one where the front 4 controls its gaps in the run game and pressures the quarterback. The easiest way to do that is to have talent in numbers.