Joiner ‘just a monster’ on the offensive line

[aubiefifty 16,739]

A-List No. 15: Auburn commit Bradyn Joiner ‘just a monster’ on the offensive line

Updated: Aug. 03, 2022, 8:30 a.m.|

Published: Aug. 03, 2022, 8:07 a.m.

Auburn High coach Keith Etheredge believes offensive lineman Bradyn Joiner can contribute quickly at Auburn University. Joiner is No. 15 on the AL.com A-List of top senior prospects. (Julie Bennett | preps@al.com)Julie Bennett | preps@al.com

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Ben Thomas | bthomas@al.com

The A-List is AL.com’s ranking of the top 15 senior prospects in the state of Alabama. We will count down one each day until No. 1 is revealed Aug. 17.

Auburn High offensive lineman Bradyn Joiner has a short checklist for his senior season.

1. Help his team win a state title.

2. Win Class 7A Lineman of the Year.

“Winning the state championship is always my main goal,” said Joiner, who helped Oxford to the Class 6A state title as a sophomore. “After that, I’m trying to win Lineman of the Year. It’s really the only thing I haven’t done.”

The 6-foot-3, 317-pound Joiner enters his senior season as one of the state’s top players. He committed to nearby Auburn University in January, the first commitment of coach Bryan Harsin’s 2023 recruiting class.

“I don’t feel like coach Harsin was given a chance in his first year,” Joiner said. “But they recruited some gamechangers in last year’s class like Powell Gordon and Jay Fair and others. He is going to build something great. He is a win first guy. That is one of the main reasons I committed to him.”

Joiner kicks off this year’s AL.com A-List, a ranking of the top senior recruits in Alabama, at No. 15. A first-team Class 7A All-State selection on defense as a junior, Joiner made 67 tackles, including 14 for a loss, and six sacks.

He’ll move back to offense, his primary spot, as a senior, though he will see some limited duty on the defensive front for the Tigers.

“We’ll spot play him on defense when we need him,” Auburn coach Keith Etheredge said. “Any kind of short-yardage situation or any time we need a big stop, he will be in there. When he’s in the game, you have to account for him or you are going to be in trouble. He’s a guy who loves being able to contribute however he can. The competition part of it is something he thrives on. He will make plays when you need him to make plays.”

Etheredge said Joiner has become a great leader of the Tigers since the end of the 2021 season.

“He’s vocal,” he said. “He’s here every day. He busts his rear. When you are younger, there might be a little immaturity. You might skip a rep here or there. This year, Bradyn is being that alpha dog that we really need. He is stronger in the weight room. He is hang-cleaning 375 now. He’s just a monster. You don’t get to coach kids like him very often.”

Oxford lineman Bradyn Joiner blocks against Spanish Fort during the AHSAA Super 7 Class 6A championship at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., Friday, Dec. 6, 2019. (Dennis Victory | preps@al.com)

Joiner and Etheredge have built a special relationship. The two won the 6A title together for the Yellow Jackets in 2019. When Etheredge left to take the Auburn job, Joiner and his family eventually followed.

“After 22 years of coaching, you learn to appreciate guys like Bradyn,” Etheredge said. “I can call him, and he will come sit in my office and we can have an adult conversation or break down film or whatever. You don’t find many kids like that.

“I’ve had him for four years. He’s like a son to me. I’ve watched him grow. He’s been starting for me since he was a ninth-grader. I’ve watched him mature. It makes you proud and happy for him to see the young man he has become and all the work he has put in to get there.”

The feeling clearly is mutual.

“Coach means a lot to me,” Joiner said. “He’s like a father figure. He’s always been there for anything I need. We are pretty tight.”

Joiner has spent much of this year trying to help Auburn University recruit players to join him in the 2023 class.

“I’ve just been telling them about Auburn,” he said. “Who doesn’t want to play in a game like the Iron Bowl? It’s the biggest game around. All the NFL coaches are going to be watching.”

Etheredge expects Joiner to be able to compete quickly in the SEC and continue his playing career at an even higher level.

“He can be a guy that plays interior offensive line on Sundays,” he said. “He can come in right away and make an impact. He’s a kid who will come into Auburn and, as soon as he learns the offense, he will be a guy who plays for them.”

A-LIST NO. 15: BRADYN JOINER, AUBURN

Position: Offensive lineman

Height/weight: 6-3, 317.

College status: Committed to Auburn.

Randy Kennedy’s scouting report: Bradyn Joiner is a strong and high-motor brawler. His lack of elite height will require him to play guard or even center at Auburn. His early commitment to the hometown Tigers was a huge boost to Bryan Harsin’s staff.

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[autigeremt 6,590]

It will be fun to watch him against Hoover in a few weeks. 

[homersapien 11,357]

This is like a jug of icewater being presented to Auburn who has been crawling through a OL recruiting desert for years.

Edited August 4, 2022 by homersapien

[gr82b4au 5,568]

He is a stud. Can’t wait until he is at AU.
 

Can he play all five positions simultaneously?

[AuburnNTexas 7,134]

He may start as a freshman.  The last freshman center Reese Dismulkes to start at Auburn turned out to be a great College center.

Edited August 4, 2022 by AuburnNTexas

[AUBwins 10,074]

Can he reclassify and play this year? Like in Basketball?  😁

[AUFAN1972 27]

Does anyone know what his true height is?   Recruiting sites always list him as 6'1" 330 ish.  

[Rednilla 5,383]

 

Does anyone know what his true height is?   Recruiting sites always list him as 6'1" 330 ish.  

While it's certainly possible that he has grown a little since the recruiting sites last checked, he likely isn't 6'3. And that's okay for a center.

[AuburnNTexas 7,134]

6'1" to 6'2" 330 is not a bad size for a center it gives him a low center of gravity and at 330 he is massive. That is the type of Center that does not get blown off the line of scrimmage assuming he has good technique and a quick 1st step along with a powerful punch.