• DE Robert Hill, 6-1, 239, Jr.
• DL Joe Jones, 5-11, 308, rFr.

"(Antonio Coleman) had at least two sacks during one scrimmage that was dominated by the defensive line and should be a force next year if he can avoid the minor bumps and bruises that limited him last season."

True to form, Coleman suffered some injuries that limited his production during the first half of the season. But the senior was a terror the second half, finishing with 10 sacks and 16.5 tackles for a loss. He led the SEC in both categories. But he's gone now, along with defensive tackle Jake Ricks, meaning Auburn will need some new faces to step up on the line. The good news is that there are plenty of candidates, with a solid blend of experience and youth. The bad news is that none of the players has as much of an upside as Coleman, who was a standout performer for most of his career. The Tigers might be deeper on the line this year, but they'll have to account for losing their star.

If anyone is going to step into AC's place, it's another AC — senior Antoine Carter. Carter showed what he was capable of near the end of last season once he was fully recovered from offseason knee surgery. He became the bookend pass rusher Auburn needed to pair with Coleman to keep opposing quarterbacks wary at all times. The question is this: was Carter's success tied to all the attention Coleman was getting on the other side? In addition to Carter and Goggans, who mans the other end position, Auburn has developed some young talent. Ford and Eguae are blossoming players, perhaps not quite ready for a primetime role, but ready to contribute nonetheless. In the middle, Blanc is primed for a big season after quietly registering 6.5 TFLs and 3.5 sacks last year. But Fairley has the biggest potential. The former junior college transfer has worked on consistency this offseason, trying to get his assignment grades to match his production grades. If he gets better at lining up in the right place and plugging the right hole on a more consistent basis, the Tigers could have a strong defensive front.

It remains to be seen if anybody in this group can consistently produce, especially at stopping the run, where Auburn was abysmal last season (156.1 yards allowed per game ranked 10th in the SEC). Carter has shown it in spurts. Goggans started 18 games before some minor injuries and poor production led to Carter replacing him int the starting lineup. Fairley and Blanc have done OK, but there are questions about the backups. Clayton has never stayed healthy (including this spring). Eguae and Ford are pretty ripe. Lykes has been quiet his entire career. And you can get a pretty good sense of what the coaches think about Travis after burning his redshirt to fair catch a short kickoff last year. Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker will have to develop that second line if he plans on wholesale substitutions like he did during the latter part of last season.

Defensive line is usually a difficult place to come in and play right away, but Auburn has some candidates in its signing class. Whitaker and Carter are both four-star players at tackle, where there's not a line of superstars ahead of them. And Whitaker is big enough (295 pounds) that size won't be a detriment to getting on the field. One the ends, Bonomolo, a junior college transfer, should be ahead of the game in terms of game-readiness, having played two seasons (or one and a half if you take into account his shoulder injury) at Fullerton (Calif.) Community College. Lemonier, a signing day addition who announced on ESPN, is highly-rated but needs to add some size (223 pounds). Auburn planned to redshirt Ford, who was in similar spot last year, but played him in third-down situations when injuries forced the coaching staff's hand. Perhaps a similar role is in the talented Lemonier's future. Sanders, meanwhile, already got a jump on learning the system by enrolling in January.

Eguae. Coaches and teammates had great things to say about him end during two-a-days last August, calling him one of the likeliest freshman candidates to get on the field. But doctors discovered a stress fracture in his foot one the eve of the season. He thought about playing the second half of the year but decided to redshirt. It might be to Auburn's benefit. Eguae thinks the year off helped his development, able to add some size and gain a little more knowledge about the game before being thrown into the fire. He doesn't appear to care what his role is, even if it's as a backup. "Whoever is in front of me," he said, "I don't want no decrease of play to happen between me and the guy that's in front of me."

There seem to be pretty defined lines of who is a starter and a reserve on the line this year. If I had to pick a battle, I'd say watch one of the end positions. Goggans didn't exactly dominate last year, losing his starting job halfway through the season (although that was to an up-and-coming Carter). Eguae might not be there yet, but if he's as talented as the coaches are saying, he should start to make strides throughout the season and push for more playing time.

"The thing we need is leadership. That’s probably the most important thing is getting those guys up front to try and lead." — Rocker, wondering who is going to step up in Coleman's place.

25 — Rushing touchdowns allowed by Auburn last season, by far the most in the SEC. Alabama, by comparison, allowed only five.

While there is no star the caliber of Coleman, Auburn has some nice pieces here. Rocker was fond of rotating in wholesale substitutions last year, like it was a hockey line. He's got something to work with this year, with Carter, Goggans, Blanc and Fairley on the first line and Ford, Eguae, Fairley and Lykes on the second, with the possibility of some youngsters mixing in right away. The biggest thing to look at is how this group will stop the run. The Tigers can't go through another year where teams run rampant on them — especially in the SEC.