The Auburn Tigers flaunted its NFL connections last Friday with a high school coaching clinic at the Plains.
The clinic featured Dallas Cowboys’ offensive coordinator [autotag]Kellen Moore[/autotag] and defensive passing game coordinator [autotag]Joe Whitt. Jr.[/autotag] Auburn head coach [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] was Moore’s QB coach at Boise State and Whitt Jr. played wide receiver for Auburn in the late 1990s.
Harsin, Moore and Whitt Jr. spoke to over 250 coaches at the clinic. Moore’s section of the clinic focused on offensive tempos, and he had a lot of good things to say about Harsin in an Auburn release.
“It was a great example for me as I progressed into wanting to be a coach, how collaborative [Harsin] was. It was very much a conversation, working together to find solutions. That was a huge lesson for me being around [Harsin]. He’s really smart, really well-prepared. He knew his stuff and allowed me to be part of that. I thought that was really special.”
Under Moore, the Cowboys had the No. 1 total offense in the league with a league-leading 530 points. Moore also reminisced about his time playing under Harsin at Boise State, saying he was one of his main inspirations for learning how to coach.
Joe Whitt Jr. learned coaching from his father, who coached for the Tigers for 25 years. Whitt initially played wideout at Auburn, but after a career-ending injury, he turned his attention to coaching. Whitt Jr. wasn’t as familiar with Harsin, but he came away from the coaching camp impressed with Harsin’s mentality.
“These guys want to have an opportunity to play on the next level. He has the ability to give them that opportunity. When you have a guy who is detailed and understands how to win, it’s going to give us a chance to win here at Auburn.”
The Cowboys’ defense struggled a bit in the passing game this year. Whitt Jr.’s unit gave up an average of 238.2 yards per game, which fell in the bottom half of the league. Nonetheless, Dallas’ secondary had a league-high 26 interceptions which helped contribute to a +14 turnover differential.
[mm-video type=video id=01fvdxw7ws1aqfc57e1e playlist_id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fvdxw7ws1aqfc57e1e/01fvdxw7ws1aqfc57e1e-7fb67ce370ff12432071d0d3d7381c94.jpg]
[listicle id=44596]