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AUBURN | J.B. Grimes doesn't sugarcoat it.
Auburn's offensive line coach is thrilled with the five linemen he added in the 2015 recruiting class, a group that includes at least one of the Tigers' top targets at each of the positions along the offensive front.
But Grimes wanted one more.
"I feel like I was one tackle short," Grimes said. "But we didn't want to take just anybody."
Grimes didn't need another tackle. He didn't have to have one.
"It had to be a certain type," he said. "It had to be the correct tackle."
Martez Ivey was it, but the five-star chose on Signing Day to stay home and attend Florida.
"We gave it the all-American effort and came up a little short," Grimes said.
Grimes doesn't plan on it happening again.
"We have to get some tackles (in 2016)," he said. "We have to get some length, some long-bodied guys.
"I want me a Greg Robinson, a Shon Coleman. I want one of those kinds of guys.
"And I'm going to go get me one."
Auburn signed one tackle in the 2015 class, early enrollee Bailey Sharp. Rivals100 tackle Tyler Carr, also an early enrollee, is playing left guard.
'REALLY GOOD CLASS'
Sharp, Carr, Harrell and Kim all committed early to Auburn and never wavered. Horton was a longtime Florida commitment before he switched his allegiance to Auburn on Signing Day.
Jumbo combo
Horton, 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds from Westlake in Atlanta, could turn out to be an important addition, albeit late. He has the abilities to play inside or outside, similar to someone Grimes sees daily.
"He's a guy that's a little like Avery (Young) that could be a tackle-guard combo," Grimes said. "He's not quite as tall as Avery (6-6), but there isn't much difference. He's got the feet to be a tackle. He's got the bulk to be a guard. That's absolutely a good thing."
Athletic guard
Harrell, 6-foot-3 and 295 pounds, will focus solely on the guard position. Rivals.com ranked the former Creekside (Fairburn, Ga.) standout the No. 19 guard in the country.
Grimes understands why.
"I really like him," Grimes said. "I like his athleticism. He can run. He's also a great kid. I love him to death."
Need to know
Kim, 6-foot-4 and 285 pounds, also projects to play one of the inside line positions, but Grimes hopes it's not guard. He needs a center.
"I'd like to find out if he can snap that football," Grimes said. "I know he is a really, really smart guy and that he loves the game of football, so I want to find out about his snapping abilities really quickly in the summer and see how he adapts to that."
There's a reason for the urgency.
"That will absolutely, no question, determine whether or not we take a center in 2016," Grimes said.
DL for prom dates
Sharp, from Sprayberry High in Marietta, Ga., is working at right tackle this spring. Carr, from Southside-Gadsden, is working at left guard.
The two early enrollees should be doing something else.
"They should be buying a corsage for their prom date right now," Grimes said. "Instead, they're getting thrown out there and getting hit upside the head by guys like Carl Lawson and Montravius Adams. They are in a different environment, but I think they are holding up well."
Grimes continues to see in both what he saw when he recruited them.
"(Carr) is a big, strong and quick athlete," Grimes said. "He's a little raw. We have to get him playing a little better with his hands and feet, but that's coaching. We'll get that fixed.
"Sharp, I liked the way he ran. He's a ways away from a strength standpoint. He's 296 pounds, but he has to get stronger and that's why you get them in here (early).
"They have an opportunity to spend 5 ½ years here."
Grimes wouldn't mind if they did. He has high hopes for the entire group.
"I love this signing class character-wise," Grimes said. "These are guys that are smart, that you can coach hard and they aren't going to take it personal.
"This is going to be a really good class."
