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The defense was drastically different in the first half than the second half against Georgia State.
Auburn captain and linebacker Chandler Wooten attributed the better play in the second half to the defense playing with a different mentality and more urgency.
He joined the “Locked On Auburn” podcast to talk about it.
“We were in a dogfight for sure. We didn’t play our brand of football in the first half but we wanted to come out in the second half and reestablish ourselves and be more physical, especially up front on the defensive end and with the linebackers. We wanted to come out in the second half with a sense of urgency. We were able to get consecutive stops and were able to give our offense the ball back.”
Another difference was the return of linebacker Zakoby McClain in the second half. Wotten talked about his impact on the show.
“Having a guy like (McClain) had a big part in it as you said with the energy he brings and the consistent energy he brings. He’s just an incredible player. So adding that to the lineup, that was a big role in it. And then like I said, going into halftime, we were;t happy with our play at all so coming out in the second half we just had a different mentality and wanted to play with more energy. Guys were flying around more and just more of a sense of urgency. I think that also played a role in it.”
Wooten led the Auburn defense against Georgia State with 12 tackles.
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