AUBURN | Damari Alston isn’t afraid to admit he wasn’t familiar with Jourdin Crawford’s game.

But seeing the freshmen defensive linemen in the weight room for the first time in January and then watching him in spring practice has Alston signing his praises.

“It’s just funny because, no disrespect to the bro, but I didn’t know who he was coming in,” said Alston, Auburn’s senior running back. “I’d seen him in the weight room and he’s throwing crazy weight. I think he’s like the strongest lineman we’ve got right now.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, who is this kid?’ And it’s showing out on the field. I feel like he’s going to be a great player for us.”

Crawford, 6-foot, 339-pound, is on track to be part of the Tigers’ playing rotation as a true freshman at noseguard this fall along with seniors Quientrail Jamison-Travis and Dallas Walker IV.

“Jourdin Crawford might be the strongest human I have ever seen with my own two eyes. He’s so strong and he plays so physical all the time,” said defensive lineman Malik Blocton, who started two games and played in all 12 as a true freshman last fall.

“He’s one of those people you can’t sit. He’s so physical. You can’t put him on the bench. The first couple of days at practice he was just killing people with straight power. This whole last week, he’s been hitting straight finesse moves and he’s still been winning. He can do both. He’s a very good player.”

Crawford had an impressive spring but he’s still got a lot of growth and improvement in front of him. Defensive line coach Vontrell King-Williams put a lot of emphasis on his technique, including hand placement and stance in the spring, and that will continue into the summer and fall. He’s also making sure Crawford is watching his diet carefully.

“He’s going to be a big-time matchup problem once he continues to learn the proper ways to do things. Super excited about Jourdin,” said King-Williams.

Auburn opens the season Friday, Aug. 29 at Baylor. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on FOX.