Auburn’s defensive line is easily regarded as one of the best in the SEC, if not the best. But an elective class that three linemen are taking this semester may be the secret sauce for the havoc the Tigers wreak on opponents.

Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson and Nick Coe are all enrolled in a taekwondo class.

“That’s probably the best class we ever took,” Davidson told AL.com.

The players discussed it with defensive line coach Rodney Garner, and figured it would help them on the field.

Davidson said he believes it has also helped he and Brown with improved hand speed, which has translated to a combined 4 forced fumbles this season, all on strip-sacks, with 3 of them coming in the Tigers’ last 2 games. With 2 apiece, Brown and Davidson are tied for 21st nationally and ties for most in the SEC in that category among defensive players.

The 2 forced fumbles are a career-high for Davidson, while Brown has matched his career-high from 2016 — and are already an improvement on his one from a year ago. Brown has also shown off his quick hands with a career-high 3 pass breakups this season.

“I think my hand speed is a little faster now,” Davidson said. “Just making sure, because fighting you have to keep your hands up and protect your face and your numbers, so that’s just like protecting your numbers in football with offensive linemen. I think that plays a tremendous role.”

Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond and Florida’s Kyle Trask are among the quarterbacks who have been victimized by the results from this new elective.