AUBURN | It begins with communication and working together.

Those are the two areas Will Friend wants to see his offensive line improve on the most from last season. But that’s just the start.

“We had a goal of communication and being tied together. One of the things I think when you look at good offensive lines, the first thing that jumps out is they’re tied together,” said Friend. “Getting tied together and just the speed of how we play, the get-off, being able to run — we’ve put a huge emphasis on that. We’ve improved there.”

It hasn’t been easy. Friend has been missing four potential starters for most of the spring in center Nick Brahms, guards Brandon Council and Keiondre Jones and tackle Austin Troxell.

Jones should return this week and the others are expected back this summer, which will be a key time for the development of the offensive line.

“They’ll be able to get team reps in the player-run things,” Friend explained. “So the preparations part of that heading into camp will be huge. I think that’s probably been the biggest change in football, is how much your players are able to get done.

“The good teams, the players do a great job of having themselves ready when they come into fall camp.”

While not having so many veterans available is a drawback, it also comes with a silver lining. It gives a number of inexperienced players the opportunity of working with the first-team including Kam Stutts, Jalil Irvin, Tate Johnson and Brenden Coffey.

“It has allowed us to get a lot of younger guys, they’ve had to get a little more reps. That has been a plus because we’ve got to develop some depth in the room,” said Friend.

Friend named Stutts as one of the most improved this spring along with left tackle Kilian Zierer, Johnson, Irvin and backup center Avery Jernigan.

“Some guys have been able to make some jumps that were big for us,” Friend said.

Auburn completed its 12th practice of the spring Monday. The A-Day game is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. CT on SECN+/ESPN+.