Carl Lawson Tennessee

Auburn defensive end Carl Lawson (55) sacks Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) during the second quarter Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

AUBURN, Alabama -- According to the calendar, spring is still a few weeks away, but the start of Auburn's spring practice looms in a little less than two weeks.

With the start of spring practice on the horizon, we're going to break down an Auburn position group each day for the next two weeks as we get closer and closer to the Tigers' first practice on March 18.

Defensive ends

By the numbers

Elijah Daniel

LaDarius Owens

Carl Lawson

Keymiya Harrell

Gimel President

The departed

Dee Ford

Nosa Eguae

Craig Sanders

Kenneth Carter

Spring cast

Elijah Daniel

Keymiya Harrell

Carl Lawson

LaDarius Owens

Gimel President

Chase Robison

On the way

Rasheed Kennion

DaVonte Lambert

Justin Thornton

Andrew Williams

Burning question

Does Auburn already have the next Dee Ford on campus and can the Tigers immediately fill that massive void?

Star attraction

Both sides of the defensive line are open, and the two jobs are anyone's to win. The stars here appear to be rising sophomores Elijah Daniel and Carl Lawson, but both of them will be pushed for playing time by a few fellow sophomores and senior LaDarius Owens.

Spring drills will provide Daniel and Lawson time to sharpen their skills before a load of newcomers arrive on campus in the fall. Losing Ford's production -- mostly those 10.5 sacks and 17 quarterback hurries -- will hurt the Tigers in 2014. Whether Auburn can curb the loss of a potential first-round draft pick with someone already on campus remains to be seen.

Flash of potential

Look no further than the five-star duo of Daniel and Lawson. Both had impressive campaigns as true freshmen, thought they could use some fine tuning this spring. The coaches may not outright tell them -- especially with the No. 1 junior college defensive end on his way (more on him later) -- but Daniel and Lawson need to step up as starters. They combined for 6.5 sacks and 18 quarterback hurries last season, and improvement is expected. If not, a heavy rotation is likely on the way at defensive end, though that could be the case no matter who wins the starting jobs on the left and right sides.

Lawson was especially impressive in big moments last season. His game-ending sack of Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace is the type of moment only one other defensive lineman on Auburn's roster could claim: Ford. Ford, of course, had game-sealing hits on Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel and Georgia's Aaron Murray. The Tigers need more of that.

Wild card

How about Chase Robison? The Texas Tech transfer is finally eligible to play, and with depth an issue this spring look for him to make some moves in spring practices. We don't quite know what to expect from Robison, who was a three-star prospect out of Memphis Christian Brothers. He did not play at Tech, where he redshirted his first season, and had to sit out the 2013 season at Auburn due to NCAA transfer rules. How will he stack up against SEC talent after a two-year break from the playing field? We'll find out this spring.

Fans should also keep an eye on Keymiya Harrell, who returns from a knee injury.

On the way

Auburn has several talented defensive ends coming in, but the big catch appears to be DaVonte Lambert. He is rated the No. 1 defensive end out of the junior college ranks and flipped from Tennessee to Auburn in the 11th hour. He was expected to arrive on campus in January, but did not qualify. He is expected to arrive on campus in the summer, which will put him behind the pack as he tries to snag a starting spot. The good news for Lambert? Position coach Rodney Garner loves to rotate players and Lambert should see some early playing time.

Outside of Lambert, keep an eye on Andrew Williams. The true freshman's explosive speed could lead to immediate playing time in what otherwise could have been a redshirt season.

Facts of life

Forget the sacks and tackles. The number to pay attention to is quarterback hurries. The Tigers lose a total of 33 quarterback pressures from last season's team. It's an overlooked -- but still often talked about -- quality at end, and forcing the quarterback into a situation to potentially make a mistake 33 times (or up to three times per game) is a big number. The Tigers need to find a way to replace that production, especially with Ford's 17 hurries headed to the NFL.

Quotable

"I can’t say enough about the guy. I can’t say enough about all the freshmen guys. I remember I did an interview before and the only thing ever holding them back was experience. Those guys have really locked in week in and week out. Elijah and Carl and Mon(travius) Adams, those guys are finally getting the chance to show what we’ve been seeing in practice every day. They have finally locked in enough to do it.”-- DT Gabe Wright on Elijah Daniel and Carl Lawson.