Auburn will have the tall task of replacing Dee Ford, Nosa Eguae, Craig Sanders and Kenneth Carter along the defensive line but Auburn still has plenty of star power returning in 2014.
Of the many players returning for Auburn on the defensive line, sophomores Carl Lawson, Elijah Daniel and Montravius Adams are looking to make immediate impacts after all three had impressive debuts for Auburn as freshman in 2013.
Counter that with the senior leadership of Gabe Wright and Jeffrey Whitaker returning with plenty of experience and this defensive line could make a lot of noise in 2014.
"As a defensive unit, we are so athletic," said Lawson. "Everyone on D-end and D-tackle can go back and forth between two positions. Elijah has been working hard as always. He's trying to get his fundamentals right, same thing as me. Just working hard to get better that's all he can do. Mon is a freaky athlete."
In spring practice this year Auburn has tried rotating three different sets of only defensive tackles. The name "Rhino Package" was coined after senior Gabe Wright ran the idea across position coach Rodney Garner.
Returning senior tight-end C.J. Uzomah has liked what he's seen so far in the Rhino package and explained the problems Auburn could cause for other SEC opponents who rely heavily on big offensive lines and dual tight-end sets.
"That's something completely different than blocking against like Dee, someone who's extremely quick and fast," said Uzomah. "Blocking against someone like Gabe and Montravius, they're [huge]."
Even with their success last season, the defensive line has problems it wants to fix in 2014.
"As a defensive unit, we need to establish more communication," said Lawson. "We had a lot of problems with that last year. It's a big spring for me because last year I was a little bit disappointed about my performance, and I can't wait to get better."
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