Hugh Freeze Reveals 'Biggest Worry' on Auburn Tigers Offense

The Auburn Tigers have a lot of new faces on offense, but it's one area in particular that head coach Hugh Freeze is most concerned with.

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze is trying to rebuild an offense that struggled his first year in charge. / Austin Perryman, Auburn University Athletics

All eyes have been on the Auburn Tigers shiny new weapons on offense during the early parts of fall camp. However, football games are often won or lost in the trenches.  

Ideally, the Tigers would like the offensive line to push opponents back to open up opportunities for both the passing and running game. Conversely, if the defense pushes the offensive line backward, it disrupts timing and forces the offense into difficult situations. 

The offensive line play was considered decent in last Saturday's scrimmage, but it definitely was not up to the expectations of head coach Hugh Freeze and offensive line coach Jake Thornton.

 Freeze admitted last week that there have been struggles.

“The O-line probably is one of the tighter groups we have,” Freeze said. “I do think we have a way to go there, and that's probably been my biggest worry about the offense right now, believe it or not. 

“I think our receivers are coming on fine. The O-line, it’s just getting them to gel and get on the same page. Really happy with most of them up there. There's a couple spots we've got to become better.

“Now, I will say it’s somewhat hard to tell when you're always thudding, really what the play produced, but we're still making too many … we're not all on the same page.” 

Freeze sees plenty of potential in the group, including the only projected sophomore, center Connor Lew. 

“Connor Lew is very, very sharp, and he's making the right call, but somehow it's not translating all the time to every position there, so we've still got work to do there,” said Freeze. “I am optimistic that Tyler Johnson is now healthy, and I think he's got a chance to be really, really talented.

“I’ll tell you, (Ronan) Chambers has been a very, very good late pickup to help us. We’re also debating (Dillon) Wade, where it's best for him to play. So we're still in the process of figuring that out, but we do need to compete there.”

The offensive line is the backbone of the Tigers offense. The offensive line's ability to protect Payton Thorne, create running lanes for running backs, control the line of scrimmage, and build team confidence is vital to success of the season. 

While they may not receive the same recognition as other positions, their impact on the game is undeniable. As the saying goes, “games are won in the trenches,” and it is the offensive line that ensures victory starts from the ground up.