ESPN's Greg McElroy, Cole Cubelic Rank Auburn Tigers OL Highly

While most of the offseason focus has been put on Jackson Arnold and the Auburn Tigers’ re-tooled quarterback room, Hugh Freeze has quietly put together an impressive offensive line. 

Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy and former Auburn offensive lineman Cole Cubelic recently broke down their top-10 offensive lines in college football on Always College Football, and they had Auburn at No. 8 in the country. 

“At No. 8, I’m going with the Auburn Tigers,” McElroy said on ESPN’s Always College Football. “A lot of this has to do with a lot of guys are back. I thought last year's group, collectively at season’s end, was playing really good football. I think Dillon Wade and Connor Lew, once those guys kind of settled into the spots that they ended up settling in at. That was a huge difference maker. They finally figured out left tackle. A huge problem spot throughout the first six, seven, eight games last year.”

It was clear Freeze wasn’t content with his offensive tackles last season after rotating through several. He hopes he has both positions solved after hitting the transfer portal. Xavier Chaplin was the No. 2-rated offensive tackle in the transfer portal by 247Sports, and USC transfer Mason Murphy was No. 15.

"You bring in a couple of quality transfers from Virginia Tech and SC, and now, all of a sudden, I think Auburn went from at best a middle-tier group in the SEC last year to a group that could very easily make an argument to be in the top five, maybe even the top three by season's end,” McElroy continued. 

McElroy expects to see an immediate improvement from the Tigers upfront, and as the unit gels, should continue to get better throughout the season. 

"So this is a group that I think is going to be significantly improved on Week 1 from where they were a year ago. That ceiling might be way higher, and they could be one of the better groups in the country."

Cubelic agreed with McElroy on the potential for the Tigers’ offensive line, and the former Auburn center continues to heap praise on Connor Lew, the current Auburn center.   

“They have that chance,” Cubelic said, agreeing with McElroy. “I think Connor Lew, one of the more athletic centers in the SEC, love the way the young man plays the game. Great body control, great balance, and he’s got two guys that can move people next to him.”

Cubelic likes the idea of Dillon Wade at guard, and thinks he’s a better fit inside than at tackle, and he uses several superlatives to describe Jeremiah Wright.

“Jeremiah Wright is a road grader; he is a literal bulldozer,” Cubelic continued. “He is a guy who wants to punish you; he wants to hurt you. Auburn has real depth this year. I feel great about their guard depth, and I feel great about their tackle depth.” 

With so many new faces, Cubelic was hedging his bets after being let down several times over the last few seasons. However, the excitement for this unit was clear in his voice.

“I’m not stamping my confidence and approval right this second,” Cubelic concluded. “But I will absolutely give you that they have the opportunity to be there. All things are aligned for that group to be really good this fall.

“It’s just on them to be out there and go out and do it now.”

That’s been a familiar refrain on the Plains this spring and summer. It’s a given that Freeze has upgraded the talent on the Tigers’ depth chart; now it’s time for the results on the field to follow.

While much of the attention the Auburn Tigers received this offseason has been for the flashy-skill players like Arnold and wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr., they’ll only go as far as the offensive line will take them.

McElroy and Cubelic like what they see in the trenches for Auburn.