Taking a look at: Offensive line

Hey everyone. Though basketball will be picking up tomorrow, there isn't much going on today ... yet.

So we'll start an occasional series on positions along the football depth chart. We can examine what went well in 2008, what went awry and what you can expect in 2009.

• LAST YEAR: It was a mess. The Tigers' initial offense was flawed because, as we discussed many times last season, nobody seemed to take ownership of it. Tony Franklin said it wasn't his. Hugh Nall said it wasn't his. You know Tommy Tuberville had no role in offensive administration.
  
  Once Franklin was dismissed on Oct. 8, Auburn's offense became an amalgam of different ideas that assembled into a confusing array of nothingness. The team had no identity. The line didn't know how to play anymore. It had been conditioned during the off-season to be a leaner group ready to handle an 85-play day. Now they were being asked to be bulldozers again -- without their standard weight. You know how that ended.
  
  
• WHAT WENT RIGHT: Not much. Guard Big Snacks Berry played fairly well when thrust into full-time duty at West Virginia and beyond. Center Ryan Pugh doesn't quit.
  
  
• WHAT WENT WRONG: Lee Ziemba was injured (a torn meniscus in his left knee has been repaired), Jason Bosley was injured, Byron Isom lost his job and, for reasons I can't explain, Tyronne Green didn't play well.
  
  
• WHAT'S NEW: Everything. New offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn will have ownership of Auburn's 2009 offense, which means there probably will be a singular vision of how the line should execute. New OL coach Jeff Grimes, hired from Colorado, accepted this job because he believes in what Malzahn is teaching. A united front among the coaches should prompt significantly better performance.
  
  Ziemba will be ready by summer. He was very good as a freshman.
  
  Auburn added two signees -- guard Andre Harris and tackle John Sullen. Harris could push for playing time. Sullen is expected to redshirt in an effort to re-build his body.
  
  
• A STAB AT THE 2009 DEPTH CHART
  
  • LT: Lee Ziemba, A.J. Greene
    
  • LG: Byron Isom, Bart Eddins
    
  • C: Ryan Pugh, Big Snacks Berry
    
  • RG: Berry, Kyle Coulahan
    
  • RT: Andrew McCain, Jared Cooper

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.