Auburn offensive lineman [autotag]Kam Stutts[/autotag] spoke to the media on Monday ahead of his team’s season opener against UMass.
The senior, who officially won the starting right guard job after [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] released his week one depth chart Monday morning, is excited to finally get the chance to be a full-time starter.
“It’s been a long road coming man. I’ve had great people with me the whole time, coaches and teammates. [I] wouldn’t be here without any of them,” Stutts said. “Thanks to the man up above for giving me the opportunity to be here. It’s been a long road but hopefully things continue to go well and I get to go out there and win some games with my teammates.”
After a long and stressful camp, Stutts is excited to get going.
“We’ve been getting after each other all offseason, iron sharpens iron… It’s exciting to finally be here and to get to go out there and compete against somebody else,” Stutts said. “[We] get to see all that hard work come to fruition.”
Auburn’s right guard also spoke highly of quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag]’s leadership throughout the offseason.
“I think he’s done a really good job stepping up as a leader and just being really vocal out there and encouraging people… just being one of those voices in our head.”
“He did a good job of just stepping up and taking initiative,” Stutts said. “Whenever he first got here, just introducing himself to all the guys and just talking… He’s been doing a really good job, I think the initiative when he first got here, just stepping up and getting after it was really big for him.”
Thorne is far from the only new face on the Tigers offense, as the team will employ three new starters on the offensive line in ECU transfer [autotag]Avery Jones[/autotag], Tulsa transfer [autotag]Dillon Wade[/autotag], and Western Kentucky transfer [autotag]Gunner Britton[/autotag].
Stutt’s emphasized the importance of communication and building relationships with his new teammates.
“Those relationships are big man, especially on the (offensive) line. Communication is key. Being able to make calls and then communicate with each other, spur of the moment things, the defense shifting, we gotta be able to communicate with each other and think. Coach [Jake] Thornton has done a really good job of giving us the tools and stuff that we need to be able to get those jobs done and communicate.”
That communication will be put to the test for the first time on Saturday when Auburn welcomes UMass into Jordan-Hare stadium at 2:30 p.m. CT.
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