[Tuck4Bama]

AUBURN -- Line coaches dole out praise cautiously and sparingly. There is always something to be fixed. Perfection is never achieved. The glass is, almost always, half-empty.
All that was worth keeping in mind after practice on Sunday when Auburn offensive line Hugh Nall slumped into a chair and sighed.

"Looked awful today," he grumbled. "Like we were starting all over."

Auburn is starting over in some positions in 2007, but the progress along the line this month has led coaches and players to be far more optimistic than Nall's gloominess might indicate.

Barring any last-minute changes, Auburn's starting five in Saturday's opener against Kansas State will include one senior, two juniors, a redshirt freshman and a true freshman.

Left tackle King Dunlap has 14 career starts, while center Jason Bosley has four. Everybody else will start for the first time against the Wildcats.

But despite its youth and inexperience, the line offers plenty of promise

Untested Auburn line excited, not nervous- al.com