http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/mo...sports/1188292980281810.xml&coll=3&thispage=1
Untested Auburn line excited, not nervous
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
By EVAN WOODBERY
Sports Reporter
AUBURN -- Line coaches dole out praise cautiously and sparingly. There is always something to be fixed. Perfection is never achieved. The glass is, almost always, half-empty.
All that was worth keeping in mind after practice on Sunday when Auburn offensive line Hugh Nall slumped into a chair and sighed.
"Looked awful today," he grumbled. "Like we were starting all over."
Auburn is starting over in some positions in 2007, but the progress along the line this month has led coaches and players to be far more optimistic than Nall's gloominess might indicate.
Barring any last-minute changes, Auburn's starting five in Saturday's opener against Kansas State will include one senior, two juniors,
a redshirt freshman and a true freshman.
Left tackle King Dunlap has 14 career starts, while center Jason Bosley has four.
Everybody else will start for the first time against the Wildcats.
But despite its youth and inexperience, the line offers plenty of promise.
True freshman right tackle Lee Ziemba was a top recruit who fended off veteran challengers to win the job in camp. Redshirt freshman Mike Berry won the right tackle job after an injury to senior Leon Hart, but he might have won it anyway.
Junior left guard Tyronne Green was probably good enough to start last year, and will fill the shoes of first-round NFL draft pick Ben Grubbs in 2007.
The left side isn't causing anybody to lose sleep.
It's the right side -- with two freshmen -- where most of the worry is concentrated.
"There's no doubt in my mind they are going to get after it and play hard, but they're going to make mistakes any young guy would make," Nall said. "I think they'll make them full speed, and as the year goes on we'll get them corrected."
Ziemba has practiced nearly every day against Quentin Groves, one of the nation's top pass rushers, so his job can't get much more difficult once the games begin.
But his first test is no slouch. Kansas State junior defensive end Ian Campbell was a consensus Big 12 first-teamer last year and is one of the leaders of the Wildcats' defense.
"He's a hard-nosed player who plays hard every snap, has great speed off the edge and has great pass moves," Nall said. "I think his biggest asset is his get-off. He's got a real quick get-off and good speed."
Campbell was one of only four players in the country with 11 or more sacks last season, a fact Nall quoted from memory.
"If you've got that many sacks, you're doing something right," he said.
But Ziemba isn't a bundle of nerves. Nall said he senses anticipation, not anxiety from his two freshmen.
"What I've seen is them working hard," Nall said. "The only thing I can sense is excitement and looking forward to the game."
When Auburn's new depth chart is released today, it's unlikely to offer any more experienced options.
Junior Antwoin Daniels will be an option at both tackle positions and right guard. Sophomore Andrew McCain is a reserve at left tackle. Redshirt freshman Byron "Lee" Isom is behind Green at left guard. True freshman Ryan Pugh would probably be the first option at center. Once Hart returns, he will also factor in the mix.
The season opener will provide Nall with a better idea of where his unit stands. But he's not likely to be satisfied.
"We've still got a lot to work on," he said Sunday night. "The effort was good, but there are still too many mistakes."
