Auburn’s fan base has zeroed in on one name as the center situation keeps dragging: Kail Ellis.
With Cole Best still not winning much confidence, the question keeps coming back in louder and louder waves - when does Ellis get a chance? Best has landed in the bottom half of the Power 4 conferences among eligible centers during the 2026 season, and even if you’re not a believer in individual offensive line grading, the bigger problem has been obvious. Auburn has not been able to generate consistent push in the middle of the run game.
That lack of movement has shown up in the numbers and in the way the offense has had to survive. Quarterback Byrum Brown leads Auburn in rushing, and a lot of that production has come in chunks off scrambles and broken plays. Jeremiah Cobb and Omar Mabson have put up rushing totals that are heavily tied to the Southern Miss game, while Cobb has had a tougher time against Tennessee and Florida - the kind of opponents that better reflect what’s still ahead on the schedule.
The trouble doesn’t stop with the center spot, either. There are clear issues all along the interior offensive line, and the guard positions may not have a clean fix this season. Still, Ellis remains the obvious candidate fans want to see if Auburn is going to try to shake things up in the middle.
Coach Alex Golesh, though, has made it clear that Ellis and Miami transfer guard Deryc Plazz are not ready just yet.
"As soon as we feel like those guys give us an advantage that the guys that are playing don't, then those guys will get an opportunity to play as well," Golesh said last week.
Exactly what Golesh meant in Ellis’ case isn’t fully clear, but the most likely explanation fits with what has been said before: he still needs more time to get comfortable. Ellis said the speed and complexity of offensive coordinator Joel Gordon’s system is something he’s still adjusting to.
"It's a very complex offense, but the coaches do a great job helping simplify it up front," Ellis said. "The calls we have just try to simplify the plays and keep it all together so the defense can't pick up on any tendencies or signals. It's complex, but the coaches do a great job of explaining it to us"
For now, Ellis remains the player Auburn fans are waiting on. Whether he ends up being the fix at center is still an open question, but if he keeps sitting while Best struggles, the complaints about Golesh sticking with his USF guys aren’t going anywhere.
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Auburn Suddenly Has A Real Opening In Athens Saturday
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Auburn has its own issue to sort through, with linebacker Xavier Atkins unavailable because of suspension, but the overall picture still leaves the Tigers looking at a Georgia roster that is not at full strength. Those kinds of misses can matter in a game where margins are already thin, especially when a defense is shuffling pieces and an offense may have to adjust on the fly. For Auburn, the opening is there now, and the challenge is making sure it does not close quickly on Saturday. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Fans Suddenly Have A Bigger Program Concern Than One Bad Week
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All of it is arriving while the basketball program is already under a brighter spotlight after an exhibition loss to Florida State, with questions lingering about how the team is playing and where the coaching staff fits into the picture. And with Benko also in the mix in connection to Auburns business operations and NIL efforts, there is a lot more than one bad night pushing the conversation around the program right now. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Fans Have Every Right To Be Furious About Week 7
Week 7 is setting up as one of those Saturdays SEC fans circle on the calendar, only to realize they may spend most of it flipping between screens. Auburns trip to Georgia is in the same kickoff window as Alabama at Tennessee and Missouri at Ole Miss, creating a crowded slate of high-profile games that will all get going at once. For viewers, its the kind of scheduling jam that turns a big day into a constant compromise.
The loudest complaints have centered on Missouri at Ole Miss, which many around the league felt deserved a bigger national stage than the SEC Network. For Auburn fans, the overlap matters too, because their game at Georgia is part of the same traffic jam of attention, and there will be no easy way to keep up with everything else happening elsewhere in the conference. It is the sort of weekend that leaves fans arguing less about matchups and more about who decided they should all be watched at the same time. [Read more 🡒]