• OL Kevin Carroll, 6-1, 263, Sr.
• OL George Kasper, 5-11, 235, rFr.
• OL Andrew Parmer, 5-10, 269, So.

• OL Ed Christian, 6-5, 280, Fr.
• OL Shon Coleman, 6-7, 285, Fr.
• OL Tunde Fariyike, 6-3, 295, Fr.
• OL Eric Mack, 6-4, 315, Fr.
• OL Chad Slade, 6-6, 316, Fr.

Remember when weight gain was all the rage? Remember when Auburn had to make it a point to return to a physical brand of running the ball? It seems like ages ago, but it's not even a concern anymore. The Tigers have branded themselves (successfully, I might add) as a smashmouth type of team when it comes to the running game. And it has the hosses up front to do it. With four starters returning — Ziemba, Berry, Pugh and Isom — this should be one of the undeniable strengths of the team. And after another year in the system, it should be interesting to see how well this group can perform. Given its experience and talent, the sky's the limit.

As mentioned before, Auburn has experience. Tons of it, in fact. Ziemba's started 38 games, and, barring injury, will finish his career with the most starts in school history. Pugh has 32. Berry has 21. Isom has 18. That's 109 starts among four-fifths of Auburn's line. Not too shabby. But it's more than experience. Ziemba has a chance to be a first-team All-SEC performer. Yes, he gets the occasional procedure penalty, but how often do you hear holding against him? Not often, a rarity for a left tackle in a league of premier rush ends. The lone spot open is right tackle, where coaches have been pleased by the progress of two junior college transfers — Mosley and Gayden. Mosley appears to have a slight lead right now (a hand injury limited Gayden for some of the spring), but whoever wins the job won't be a stand-in. Both players have enough skill to make an immediate impact.

Until the freshman class arrives on campus — and even after then — depth is still going to be a concern. Yes, Auburn has more bodies this year. Offensive line coach Jeff Grimes can even practice with three full lines of players. But the quality behind the starters isn't great. We got a glimpse of that this spring with Berry sitting out following offseason knee surgery. Eddins is a capable player but his chronic knee problems (which reared their ugly head again this spring) will always limit his effectiveness. Sullen made strides this spring, both in losing weight and looking more aggressive when in the game. Whoever loses out on the right tackle job will be an option as a reserve on the outside. But other than that, it's still slim pickings. Grimes, who is reticent to dole out unwarranted praise, has hinted as much with some non-answers about the backups this spring.

For the first time in a while, Auburn signed a large offensive line class. The Tigers added no scholarship linemen in 2008 and just two in 2009. Last year? Seven, if you include the two junior college transfers. But that means there are five incoming freshman, and while Coleman's status for the time being remains unknown during his treatment for cancer (and honestly, his health is really the only concern at this point), Auburn has four other linemen — Christian, Fariyike, Mack and Slade — who need to get into two-a-days and start picking up the offense so a transition to 2011 isn't so rough. The Tigers already have three big-time commits for next February -- Spencer Region, Thomas O'Reilly and Reese Dismukes -- who all plan to enroll early. So it won't be long until the competition to replenish the line truly begins.

Even though he didn't practice this spring, I think Berry could have a breakout year. He's got the size (323 pounds) and the benefit of a full year and a half of starting in his favor. Put him between Ziemba and Pugh, two experienced players, and he could be a mauler at that left guard spot this year. I can definitely envision Auburn running to the left side of the line whenever it needs to move the chains in a short-yardage situation. There's a lot of mass over there.

This one's pretty obvious: right tackle. By no means is this one over. Mosley really only has the lead because of Gayden's inability to practice full bore at the end of spring. They were neck-and-neck the whole way. Mosley's big adjustment is moving over from tight end. He has to get more accustomed to pass blocking. Gayden's big adjustment is moving to the right side. He's always been a left tackle, so this is foreign to him. But coaches have liked their progress. It seems like Auburn can't come out a loser in this battle.

"Heck, yeah. Going to have supper with my girlfriend and somebody stops me. It’s ridiculous. But if you get in this position you’re going to hear stuff like that. We’re trying to get it fixed. I’m always trying to improve. I come here every day and work my tail off to improve myself. That’s my job." — Ziemba, on hearing about his false start penalties from people around campus.

2 — starts by linemen on the roster than Ziemba, Pugh, Berry and Isom. Sullen started against Ball State last year at guard; Eddins did so against Tennessee.

If Auburn's line can stay healthy, it can be a special unit this year. Experience alone, both overall and in Grimes' schemes, should make the Tigers' line one of the best in the SEC, if not the country. And they'll have no shortage of opportunities, with Malzahn likely to want to give Mario Fannin, Onterio McCalebb and eventually Michael Dyer a boatload of carries. Depth is going to be a concern, especially at a position where dings and dents are going to happen. But overall, this is one rock solid group.