Jeremiah Wright with the first group and other takeaways from Auburn football practice
AUBURN — Auburn football's offensive line had an update Tuesday.
During a 40-minute viewing window at practice, Jeremiah Wright was seen with the first group. Alongside him was Dillon Wade at left tackle, Avery Jones at center, Kam Stutts at right guard and Gunner Britton at right tackle. In previous practices, that was the starting unit, but with Tate Johnson in place of Wright at left guard.
Wright, who was a key piece of the rotation at LG last season, is entering his fourth year with the Tigers. Other players jockeying for a starting OG spot include Tulsa transfer Jaden Muskrat and true freshman Connor Lew.
"They've come a long way, and still are," offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery said of the O-line Monday. "... We've got some great battles that are going on in front right now. And guys are feeling that pressure of, 'Hey, I've got to be on top of my game each and every day.' For us to do what we want to do offensively, those five guys have got to lead the way for us."
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Robby Ashford on field first
True to his word, Freeze continues to cycle which quarterbacks run on the field first at practice.
It was Payton Thorne during viewing periods Thursday and Friday, but it was Robby Ashford on Tuesday. Thorne came in second and Holden Geriner was third. The first-group wide receivers with Ashford were Nick Mardner, Omari Kelly and Jay Fair, though many WRs such as Jyaire Shorter, Shane Hooks and Ja'Varrius Johnson cycled through.
First-group offense
QB: Robby Ashford
RB: Jarquez Hunter
WR: Nick Mardner, Omari Kelly, Jay Fair
TE: Rivaldo Fairweather
OL (left to right): Dillon Wade, Jeremiah Wright, Avery Jones, Kam Stutts and Gunner Britton
To open fall camp Aug. 3, Freeze said the top three QBs would all receive equal reps through the first five practices. After that, he wants the competition to be trimmed down to two ahead of Auburn's Week 1 game against UMass on Sept. 2: "We'll evaluate all of those reps and kind of recalibrate and sit down and kind of go through there after the first five."
Freeze added: "We'll have a starter game one. Does it remain bonafide? Show me the stats from Game 1. It comes down to how is the quarterback judged? He's judged by how the team plays around him and his win-loss record."
Punt returners
A handful of players practiced catching punts during a special teams portion of practice. In no particular order, those on the receiving end of punts ejected from the JUGS machine about 40 yards down the field included Jay Fair, Caleb Burton, Keionte Scott, walk-on Will Upton and Johnson.
Scott returned 14 punts for an average of 9.6 yards an attempt in 2022. Johnson caught two and returned them for a total of 11 yards.
Jarquez Hunter back at practice, other updates
Starting running back Jarquez Hunter was spotted at practice for the first time this season. Caleb Wooden, who was also previously absent, was back as well. Hunter's status has been clouded since the university released a statement in May regarding a situation in which "indefinite suspensions" were issued.
Wide receiver Koy Moore still appears to be limited, as he remains off to the side when Auburn's receivers go through drills. Moore has not been wearing a no-contact jersey, however.
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn Football: Jeremiah Wright with first group, other observations
