Offensive Line Hopes to Continue Improving

Senior Guard Alex Kozan (63) vs Clemson. (Photo: Auburn Athletics/Dakota Sumpter)

The Auburn Offense saw improvement last week in the win against Arkansas State, from struggling to put up 260 yards against Clemson, to having one of the best offensive games in school history. Many things were changed, especially on the offensive line.

Even though the offensive line features a combination of juniors and seniors, the line as a whole is inexperienced. But Coach Gus Malzahn feels like the players are becoming more comfortable, and that the line has improved drastically since the first half of the Clemson game.

“With the offensive line as a whole, the improvement from game one to game two is going two is usually your biggest improvement with an inexperienced group.” said Head Coach Gus Malzahn on Tuesday, “I really felt like they did. Their communication was better, they worked better together and that group will have to continue to improve each week to gel.”

Senior Guard Alex Kozan says that even though the competition from week one to week two was different, he is still proud of the way that the unit has improved, and that he hopes that the offense as a whole continues to develop more as the season goes.

With Texas A&M coming to town this Saturday, Kozan feels confident in the line’s chemistry to be able to compete with defensive ends Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall. “I think last week (against Arkansas State) definitely helped a lot of things, and hopefully we can take that, and continue it into this week.”

The Auburn defensive line has proven to be very solid early on, and junior guard Braden Smith feels that going up against players such as Marlon Davidson and Carl Lawson every day at practice has prepared them for the tough defensive linemen that they will face in the Southeastern Conference, despite how different each style that every opposing line will feature. “Our defensive line has a style, and they (Texas A&M) has a style, we are preparing for their type of style.”

Kozan was also asked about the series with Texas A&M, and how the road team has won every meeting since the Aggies joined the conference in 2012. “Hopefully we can break that little weird streak.”