The LT battle, injury updates and more as Auburn opens Week 1 vs. Alabama A&M

OL Dillon Wade and OL Percy Lewis (Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers)

Hugh Freeze knows a lot more about his team than he did this time last year.

But it’s still not close to a complete picture.

Freeze estimates that it takes two or three games into a season before knowing what a team really is and what it’s capable of doing.

“As much as I’ve enjoyed preparing and coaching this team and being with this staff, I still think it’s an accurate statement to say I don’t know exactly who we are just yet,” Freeze said Monday afternoon. “I think we’re better at a lot of spots for sure. But you’ve got to go prove it each and every Saturday.”

That process will start Saturday night with a season opener against in-state FCS program Alabama A&M. Auburn should have no problem taking care of business in this paycheck matchup — the Tigers have outscored SWAC opponents 231-16 in their previous meetings, and that includes a 51-7 win late in the rock-bottom 2012 season.

But Week 1 still represents a valuable opportunity for Auburn to get closer to figuring out its true nature before a rematch with a Cal team that took it to the brink last year.

Freeze knows what he wants out of this season opener: Smart football, ball security, minimal pre-snap penalties, situational awareness, a clean bill of health, etc.

The question of who will be making it all happen is still to be determined.

The best example of that came in Auburn’s first depth chart in the game notes, which featured at least one “or” for every single position on defense. (The arrangement of the players on the defensive depth chart, though, looked like a logical pecking order.) Freeze, like he said this time last year, doesn’t care much for depth charts.

“I couldn’t care less who goes out there on the first snap,” Freeze said. “I really don’t. I don’t care. And obviously with D.J. (Durkin), we’ve got 37 starters (on defense), so You better play a lot of guys early in the year.”

Freeze’s first game week press conference of the 2024 season did provide some more insight on what’s going on at several different spots on the field — including a continuing battle on the offensive line — along with some injury updates and the traditional questions surrounding an opener.

Here’s everything we heard inside the Football Performance Center on Monday as the Tigers get ready for Week 1 against the Bulldogs.