Auburn’s offensive line keeps shifting, but Jacobe’ Ward made the most of his latest turn in the spotlight.
The sophomore right guard earned his first SEC start last weekend at Ole Miss, a road assignment that came after he had already been working into the mix for much of the season. Ward, listed at 6-foot-4 and 340 pounds, had seen his first game action as a freshman against Ball State and Mercer, then picked up more work in the second half of the LSU game after Jacob Strand went down with an injury.
Ward said Tuesday after practice that he learned of the opportunity earlier in the week.
“I found out Monday, early morning,” Ward said Tuesday after practice. “Coach (Tyler Hudanick) came to me in the meeting and told me that I was going to be in competition with my teammate, Cole Skinner, and the best man was going to win the job.
“It was crazy, man. First SEC start, playing away, in front of almost 100,000 people, I’m just blessed and grateful that I got the opportunity.”
On the field, Ward has held up better than the stat line might suggest. Across his two appearances, he has allowed just two quarterback hurries and two pressures, and he has not given up a sack this season. He did pick up a false start penalty early against Ole Miss, but he still came out of the game without surrendering a sack.
“I feel like I played pretty well. Obviously, there are still some things I could fix. Just trying to keep progressing from here on out,” Ward added.
Auburn’s line as a whole had a rough night in the 45-15 loss to the Rebels, giving up four sacks with the reshuffled group up front. Quarterback Byrum Brown has been sacked 33 times this season alone.
Coach Alex Golesh said Auburn will keep adjusting the front over the final four games.
“I thought that group, when we were in rhythm, I thought that group did a solid job,” Golesh said. “I thought for Wilson’s (Zierer) first time going out to tackle, for Jacobe’s (Ward) first real game action, (it was) inconsistent, but the positives were positive.
“Pass protection-wise, I thought, did some decent things. I thought they gave us a chance to have success.
Thought for Stanton’s (Ramil) first time going out to left (tackle) this year, there were some positives, and then I thought (he) got worn down a little bit. But I thought there was some good.”
Ward, meanwhile, is hoping this is more than a one-game audition.
“That would mean a lot. Especially for me and my family, man, it would be crazy,” Ward said.
“It would be a crazy experience. I would just want to keep going from there and hopefully earn this full-time job, keep going on for the next couple of years.”
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