Auburn’s offensive line needs to get off to ‘faster start’ with run game

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With five returning redshirt senior starters, Auburn’s offensive line entered this season with expectations of being one of the best units in the country.

That has hardly been the case through the Tigers’ first two games, but head coach Gus Malzahn doesn’t see a reason to be concerned about the team’s performance in the trenches just yet.

“You know, of course, we’ve played two quality opponents,” Malzahn said, referring to Oregon and Tulane. “There's not very many teams around the country that can say that. And I thought our offensive line did good things in both games…. it's just a matter of getting off to a faster start and, you know, I really expect each game that we do a better job of that. But you know, overall, they've done some really good things.”

While Auburn has surrendered just one sack through its first two games, the offensive line has been inconsistent in the run game so far this season. Auburn is 64th nationally in yards per rush, averaging 4.3 yards per attempt in its two games against Oregon and Tulane.

Those numbers have been particularly concerning in the first half, when Auburn has averaged just 3 yards per carry on 30 run plays. Those numbers are more respectable in the second half, when the Tigers have committed more to the run, rushing 58 times for 288 yards — averaging a shade under 5 yards per carry after halftime.

The difference has been noticeable, and not just to Malzahn. The Tigers have made adjustments to their run scheme after the early struggles in each of their first two games, with Malzahn calling more power run plays in the second half.

The results were promising, but Malzahn knows the offensive line needs to get off to better starts moving forward, particularly with SEC play one week away. No. 8 Auburn will host Kent State at 6 p.m. Saturday in a final tune-up before conference action, traveling to No. 16 Texas A&M next weekend.

“We just need to start imposing our will more,” starting right tackle Jack Driscoll said. “We can't rush for 20 yards in the first half. That's unacceptable. It's not like we took sacks to lose yards. It's something that we've got to work on. It's early. Five veterans are back on the O-line, with Bailey (Sharp) as a backup, too. We've got to be better, and that's on us. But it's also on everyone.”

In the first half against Tulane last week, Auburn had just 20 rushing yards on 13 attempts, as the team got away from its identity and relied more heavily on the passing game to move the ball downfield against the Green Wave. Freshman Bo Nix attempted 29 passes before halftime, which Malzahn said was “not good” and certainly not ideal given the team’s run-first philosophy.

The Tigers found more success in the second half with the power run game, often pulling guards Mike Horton and Marquel Harrell to create running lanes in open space for Boobee Whitlow.

Auburn rushed for 152 yards and averaged 4.8 yards per carry after halftime, including nine runs for 54 yards and a touchdown on a game-sealing third-quarter scoring drive.
“I feel like I have been pulling my whole life,” Horton said. “I feel like I pulled 10,000 times in that game, too…. That’s definitely the plays we were successful on, too, when me and Marquel pulled.”

Could Auburn rely more on those types of runs to kickstart the ground game? Horton said that’s up to Malzahn, the Tigers’ sole play-caller, but the seventh-year head coach acknowledged there’s a need to make quicker adjustments in the run game so as to not have to wait until the second half to get things going.

While Malzahn assured the line play will improve throughout the season, he at least took solace in the fact that the Tigers cleaned things up from an operations standpoint, with no pre-snap or holding penalties on the offensive linemen against Tulane after the unit committed four pre-snap penalties — three false starts and a delay of game — in the opener against Oregon.

“We do have a veteran O-line so any mistakes that they might be making, we all have the confidence that they’re going to clean it up,” wide receiver Sal Cannella said. “It’s just a matter of time before that thing really opens up and really explodes because we’ve got five veteran O-linemen that can get the job done, I guarantee it.”

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