With starting offensive linemen Brandon Council now out for the season, its next man up for Auburn.

That man is redshirt freshman, Keiondre Jones.

Jones, a 4-star guard from the class of 2019, has played in every game this season except Auburn’s loss to South Carolina.

With that added experience this year, head coach Gus Malzahn feels good about Jones stepping into the starting lineup.

“We finished the game with Keiondre Jones, which I think he’s in a good spot to take that next step; we need a good week of practice,” Malzahn said. “Then we got Austin Troxell, too, who is a veteran guy too. You know, big weeks for both those guys, along with our guys that have been playing. You have seen the guys improve the last couple weeks.”

Commanding the center of the offensive line, Nick Brahms was impressed with what he saw out of Jones earlier in the year.

But, staying fresh and in-shape the entire game is of slight concern for Jones.

“I have been real impressed with him. He’s a big body. He can move. The thing is he probably needs to lose a little bit of weight and coach has told him that,” Brahms said. “He’s doing that and doing a good job with it. Just to make him more sustainable for longer drives so he doesn’t get tired. When he’s fresh he’s a good player.”

Jones is originally from Hogansville, Georgia, and played alongside a familiar name at Callaway high school: Tank Bigsby.

The two will be reunited as starters on Saturday with Jones being listed as the starter at right guard and Bigsby and Shaun Shivers being listed as the starters at running back.

While Jones is the guy at right guard now, Auburn does believe they can use backup tackle Austin Troxell at the position in a pinch.

Facing a tough LSU defensive front and plugging in a new starter, right tackle Brodarious Hamm feels confident that the offensive line can continue to improve.

“It was hard. With the chemistry and everything going,” Hamm said about Council’s injury. “But I felt like Keiondre, we got Keiondre and Trox, we’ve got guys that can step up and fill the role and just be able to go. We can’t miss a beat out there.”

NOT A MEMBER?

JOIN AUBURNSPORTS.COM TODAY to enjoy around-the-clock content including stories, analysis, videos, podcasts, call-in shows and The Greatest Message Board In The History of The Internet.