Offensive lineman Avery Jernigan no longer with the Auburn football team
AUBURN — Reserve offensive lineman Avery Jernigan will not be a part of Auburn’s football roster as spring camp starts on February 27, sources tell Auburn Live.
Jernigan, hailing from Blackshear, Ga., did not see action in 2020 or 2021 before finally getting snaps against Western Kentucky at the end of the 2022 season. Jernigan earned SEC academic honor roll acknowledgement last fall.
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Ranked as the No. 458 overall prospect in the 2019 class by the On3 Sports Consensus player rankings, the 6-foot-3, 310-pound Jernigan chose Auburn over Nebraska, Kentucky, Florida State, South Carolina and others. He was ranked the No. 26 interior offensive lineman and No. 50 player in the state of Georgia.
Avery Jernigan would have been a redshirt junior entering the 2023 season with the option of using his Covid season as an additional season of eligibility.
While not projected to start, Jernigan’s departure does impact the overall depth along an Auburn offensive line already going through a massive rebuild.
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When asked about his early evaluations of the position, new offensive line coach Jake Thornton said this during roundtable interviews in early February:
“I had an idea of what the needs were. I grabbed a computer the first couple of days out on the road and at night, I was watching all of the previous games from this past season, watching the growth of certain guys,” he said. “Maybe there’s guys that started at a position that I’m going to put here. And relying on Kendall and Joe that have watched those guys. I had an idea of what we needed and what we didn’t. We didn’t just go into the portal and say we need this guy, this guy, this guy. We watched the tape, did an eval of it, personnel department did a good job of watching these guys, and collectively said based on what we have coming back to help us win in 2023, this is what we need to go get. That’s how we molded it.”
RELATED: EVALUATING THE OFFENSIVE LINE AS SPRING CAMP APPROACHES
Returners along the offensive line include Jeremiah Wright, Tate Johnson, Kam Stutts, Jalil Irvin, Colby Smith, Garner Langlo and EJ Harris. Newcomers along the offensive line include Gunner Britton, Dillon Wade, Avery Jones, Izavion Miller, Conner Lew, Bradyn Joiner and Clay Wedin.
Thornton believes the group is capable of helping Auburn reach its goals this fall.
“I think we have the group of talent coming back, a great group of young players coming in, and a great group of transfers coming in,” Thornton said. “As long as we put in the work together, with the style of offense we play we’re going to highlight our strengths and we’re going to play hard and fast, we’re going to put pressure on defenses. I’m excited about getting it rolling.”
Auburn players report to spring practice on Monday.
