AUBURN | If you ask his teammates, Tashawn Manning has the one thing an offensive lineman needs to play in the SEC, especially under a veteran coach like J.B. Grimes.

Manning, a redshirt freshman, made the switch from defensive tackle to offensive guard on Tuesday, Auburn’s third practice of the spring.

“He’s definitely physical,” said Mike Horton, who started seven games at offensive guard last season. “He’s physical, so as long as a guy has that physicality in him, you can make him play O-line. You can teach him the details and he’ll get there, but I think he’s going to be good too.”

Manning also made a positive impression on the other side of the ball where he’s now going head-to-head against his former position group.

“He definitely caught coaches’ eyes,” defensive tackle Derrick Brown said. “Coach G, coach Grimes, they were telling him good job.”

Auburn has a lot of depth at defensive tackle including Brown and two seniors. The move to the offensive line allowed Manning to immediately work with the second-team, lining up at right guard Tuesday.

“I think he thinks it’s the most beneficial thing,” Brown said. “He knows that the coaches wouldn’t do anything that would mess up his career. He’s taking it in and working with it.”

Horton also plans to talk to Manning about the move.

“I was going to talk to him today about it, but I didn’t get the chance to,” Horton said. “I think he’s taking it well, so I think he’s just trying to get coached up. Coach Grimes is just telling him the basics, just, ‘Step right. Step left.’ Once he gets the details down, he’ll be great.”

Auburn will practice on Thursday before taking the following week off for spring break.