Way-too-early rankings of SEC offensive lines leading up to the 2024 season
9. Florida
Sports Illustrated just ranked the Florida Gators schedule as the toughest for the 2024 season. Not only do the Gators likely face at least a half dozen SEC teams that could be ranked in the major preseason polls in 2024, but it also faces arguably the two most talented defenses in their state in the non-con in Miami and Florida State.
Florida needs its offensive line play to be top notch if it even wants a chance to win eight or nine games for head coach Billy Napier in a critical year for him and his staff in Gainesville.
The Gator offensive line returns three out of five starters from a group that ranked in the middle of the pack in run blocking and pass pro in 2023 in the SEC. Florida is led by a multi-year returning starter at center, Jake Slaughter, and stout left tackle Austin Barber.
Slaughter is the best returning starter at center in the SEC in terms of his pass blocking grade in 2023. Barber is also one of the five-highest-graded returning SEC starters at offensive tackle.
8. Kentucky
Experience is the name of the game for the offensive line for the Kentucky Wildcats for this upcoming season. Kentucky returns the most career FBS blocking snaps and has the most OL starts of any SEC projected starting offensive line in 2024. It is also tied for the most returning starters with four.
I'm higher on the outlook for Kentucky's projected offensive line starters than most. Whenever you have an offensive line that returns four out of five starters and triple-digit P5 starts among the starting group, the protection for the quarterback and blocking assignments for the run game should all be sound.
Kentucky's offensive line ranked in the top half of the SEC last year in pass-blocking efficiency and run blocking grade. As long as it can keep some of the pressure off Georgia transfer and likely starting quarterback Brock Vandagriff this fall, this offense should be in good shape to have another solid year for longtime head coach Mark Stoops in Lexington.
7. Auburn
Head coach Hugh Freeze is looking to make that jump into the upper tier of SEC teams in his second year with the Auburn Tigers this upcoming season in 2024. Auburn has a potent group up front that features some likely future NFL Draft picks in the big 6-foot-8 senior left tackle Percy Lewis and redshirt senior guard Dillon Wade.
Auburn's offensive line held up well in pass pro last season, ranking sixth out of 14 in pass-blocking efficiency in 2023. The Tigers were even better in run blocking, ranking top five in the SEC in yards before contact and run blocking grade in conference play.
There's a good argument to be made that this group could be even better with another year of cohesion and an upgrade at left tackle in pass pro with the aforementioned Mississippi State transfer Lewis.
6. Texas A&M
The Texas A&M Aggies could be one of the most improved offensive line units in the SEC this upcoming season. New head coach Mike Elko and offensive line coach Adam Cushing built some fantastic offensive lines that ranked top five in the ACC in pass blocking and run blocking in the last two years at Duke.
Cushing even produced multiple NFL Draft picks along the offensive line at Duke since 2022, highlighted by 2024 first-round draft pick Graham Barton.
Texas A&M returns three out of five starters along the offensive line, namely redshirt junior left tackle Trey Zuhn III and junior center Mark Nabou. Zuhn ranked among the top five highest graded offensive tackles in the SEC in 2023. Nabou was also among the most reliable and effective starting centers in the SEC in pass pro last year.