Auburn’s offensive line is finally starting to take shape, and the first real answer comes with Baylor on deck.
That group has been under the microscope since Alex Golesh arrived, especially after some early comments that made the line’s status sound shaky before he later said that his -and the Auburn family’s- prayers had been answered. Now the Tigers have to prove it on the field, and the depth chart offers a clearer picture of who is in line to play.
The bookends look set. Jo Simmons is the lone starter listed at blindside tackle, giving Auburn a massive 6-foot-5, 330-pound presence on the edge. Simmons transferred in during the offseason after four years at James Madison, where he started 13 games at left tackle in 2025.
On the other side, junior Stanton Ramil is positioned to hold down right tackle. The Michigan State transfer came to Auburn with plenty of attention attached to his name, having been a four-star recruit out of high school before being listed as a three-star transfer this offseason. At 6-foot-7 and 313 pounds, he is the tallest lineman on the roster.
In the middle, Cole Best remains the anchor. The sixth-year senior has been a familiar piece for Golesh from his time with the USF Bulls, and he brings both size and experience at 6-foot-4, 322 pounds. Best has played in the majority of USF’s games every season since 2023, and Auburn is counting on that kind of stability inside.
The real competition sits at the guard spots, where Auburn’s depth chart does not name a single starter on either side. Instead, the Tigers are leaning into a three-man rotation at both positions.
At left guard, Deryc Plazz, Jack Leyrer and Jacob Strand are all listed as options. Strand, a senior at 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds, is the one I’d expect to get the first crack there, with Leyrer, another senior, right there at 6-foot-5 and 314 pounds.
Plazz, a sophomore Miami transfer who measures 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds, should also see work. Still, the veteran edge appears to matter most here, so Plazz may end up with less time than the older options.
Right guard has a similar setup, with Cole Skinner, Kail Ellis and Jacobe’ Ward all in the mix. Skinner, a senior transfer from USF, brings the most experience in Golesh’s system and checks in at 6-foot-5 and 322 pounds, so he looks like the safest bet to start. Ellis, a 6-foot-4, 315-pound sophomore, and Ward, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, should both rotate in to help keep the group fresh.
Ellis is worth watching closely. Last season, as a true freshman, he stepped in for then-Auburn senior center Connor Lew and handled it well before Lew was taken in the NFL Draft. Now he has shifted to guard, which likely gives Auburn another way to get him on the field while pairing him with Best in the middle.
The common thread here is clear: Auburn is building around experience. That’s the direction Golesh seems to prefer, and the Tigers have plenty of it across the front. Whether that approach is enough once SEC play really starts is still an open question, but first up is Baylor this weekend.
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For Auburn fans, that is where the unease starts to creep in. Golesh has been building a profile that reaches outside the SEC footprint, and any coach who starts showing up on national radars inevitably gets linked to bigger jobs sooner or later. There are no official moves or offers on the table, but the combination of visibility, background and rising stock is enough to make people in Auburn watch the next step a little more closely. [Read more 🡒]