AUBURN | Avery Jones secured a spot with the first-team offensive line in the spring.

The East Carolina transfer has become a vocal leader of the group this fall, which is a vital component for Auburn’s starting center.

“In the spring, he was trying to get comfortable, trying to find his place, being a new guy,” said offensive line coach Jake Thornton

"Even though he’s a six-year guy, he’s trying to establish himself and I feel like he’s now trying to be more vocal and more in-tune with being that vocal leader in the middle because we’re putting so much on his plate at center.”

Whether it’s the spring or fall, the 6-foot-4, 307-pound Jones has stood out on the practice fields. He goes up against two massive nose guards every day in 6-foot-6, 338-pound Jayson Jones and 6-foot-3, 348-pound Justin Rogers.

“Avery has done an amazing job. He’s a really good center, he’s really technical too. You can’t get away with a lot of stuff,” said Jayson Jones.

Jones started 31 career games for the Pirates over the last three season, but can’t help but feel a little extra excitement with his first Auburn game just nine days away.

“I’m real excited about it. I’ve been thinking about it each day since I committed here,” said Jones. Really excited for the season. You can’t go undefeated until you win the first game. Just want to start off good and get the ball rolling.”

Auburn opens the season Sept. 2 against UMass at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.