Auburn didn’t have to wait long to find out whether all that offensive line depth talk was real.
Against Baylor on Saturday, the Tigers lost both starting guards, then turned to Jack Leyrer and Kail Ellis when the game was hanging in the balance. When Auburn needed its biggest drive of the night - the one that ended in the game-winning touchdown in a 17-16 victory - those were the guys on the field.
For Cole Best, that moment said plenty about where the unit stands.
“Absolutely. I think it's a sign of a mature program. Next guy has got to be ready at every position and the guy behind him and the guy behind him,” Best said.
“Not the situation you want when both of your guards go out for a drive, but man, I thought they did a fantastic job of being ready. They came in, they were dialed, they were communicating, and to go score, that's a sign of maturity.
That's a sign of a mature program. Hat's off to those guys for being ready and getting done what we need to do.”
That’s exactly the kind of response Auburn had been preparing for all offseason. Alex Golesh made it clear before the opener that the Tigers weren’t going to rotate linemen just for the sake of it. The plan was to have multiple players ready, because at some point, they’d be needed.
It happened in the first game.
And it happened with a couple of names that weren’t necessarily the ones many expected.
Leyrer and Ellis got the call over Deryc Plazz, which stood out. Plazz had spent fall camp battling Jacob Strand at left guard and was listed as one of Auburn’s options at the spot entering the season. Still, when Baylor forced Auburn to dig deeper into the room, Leyrer was the one who stepped in.
Maybe there was a specific reason for that choice. Maybe there wasn’t.
Either way, it’s something to watch when Southern Miss comes to town.
Golesh said Auburn’s final touchdown came with “two sub offensive linemen in there,” as the Tigers lined up in 12 personnel and committed to running the ball with Byrum Brown.
And they finished the job.
That sequence doesn’t wipe away everything Auburn struggled with up front for most of the game. Golesh was direct about that, too, saying the Tigers have to protect Brown better and run the ball better.
But in the biggest moment, when Auburn needed its line to hold up under pressure and keep the drive alive, the depth showed up.
That’s why Best called it a sign of a mature program.
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Auburns Offensive Line Faces An Early Test Fans Cant Ignore
Auburn spent its season opener at Baylor sorting through the kind of offensive line issues that tend to linger if they are not cleaned up quickly. The staff rotated multiple players at guard, and the shuffling showed up in the ground game, leaving the Tigers with some obvious work to do before the season settles into a rhythm.
Alex Golesh said he liked the way the group has responded to coaching and kept working, which matters with Southern Mississippi next on the schedule. The official depth chart still shows several players in the mix at guard, so Auburn is clearly trying to find the right combination without letting the early-season uncertainty spill into another week. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Fans Just Got A Reminder What Saraland Keeps Producing
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Kelly folded Coleman-Williams words into Saralands pregame video, which already features highlights of former Spartans now playing in college and the NFL. The video, produced by Saraland graduate Jeremy Haney, plays before home games and serves as another reminder of how tightly the school ties its current team to the players who came before it, with Spencer and Coleman-Williams just the latest names to keep that reputation alive. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Tried To Ease One Big Fear About Losing A Home Game
Auburns decision to shift its 2026 football season opener against Baylor from Jordan-Hare Stadium to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta raised a familiar worry around town: what happens when a home date disappears from the fall calendar? The move, part of the Aflac Kickoff, leaves the Tigers with six home games, and it immediately prompted questions about the economic ripple effect for a city that leans heavily on game-day traffic.
Auburn athletics has since tried to ease that concern by pointing to a broader picture of how the city benefits when big events come to town. The school released a report comparing the impact of the Baylor game change with past football dates, and city officials have already cited the international soccer friendly between Argentina and Iceland in Auburn as proof that the local economy can absorb and even benefit from major events beyond football, with Camp War Eagle also helping shape hotel occupancy during that week. [Read more 🡒]