Auburn battles Georgia in a top-10 matchup on Saturday night in Athens. Here is Everything Gus Malzahn had to say about his Tigers and previewing the game.
Opening statement… “We’re real excited to be playing Georgia, going there this year. You’re looking at a team that’s probably the most talented team overall in the SEC. They are very well coached. You look at them defensively, they’re very sound. They make you earn stuff. They don’t give up a whole lot of big plays. They’ve got most of their defense back that I thought was excellent last year. Their defensive coordinator does a great job, and obviously Kirby (Smart) has his hand on the defense. They’re one of the best in the country. Offensively, their OC Todd Monken is a guy that’s been successful in college and successful in the NFL. It’s a good big task for us, but I will say this — our guys are extremely excited to be going there and playing Georgia.”
On the challenges the Georgia secondary presents… “They are very sound; they have good cover guys and they know their answers. They do a good job of mixing things up and, if you put that with their front, which does a good job of pressuring the quarterback, they complement each other.”
Preparing for J.T. Daniels… “In a way, it’s like another first-game preparation; you’ve just got to be prepared to adjust. Last week, I thought our defense adjusted well in the second half. If they end up playing him it could be a period of time to adjust based on what the plan is.”
Georgia’s strengths in stopping the run… “Last year we played them late in the season and I don’t think they had given up a rushing touchdown all year and we got one on a quarterback run. They’ve got just about everybody back. You’re looking at not just one of the best rushing defenses, if not the best rushing defense in the country, but one of the best overall defenses. After last year, I felt that they were the best defense we played all year. They’ve got so many guys back and they make you earn it — that’s the key. They mix things up, they check when you check and they are a very sound unit.”
Preparing for Georgia’s special teams… “They’ve got a lot of talent. You watch them on special teams, they’ve got real speed and real talent on special teams. Any time you’re talking about speed on special teams, that’s usually the difference maker. We’re going to have to do a great job with speed, technique and everything that goes into that, to try to win this special teams battle.”
On the play of the secondary and Jaylin Simpson… “First of all, I thought Jaylin Simpson did a good job, especially his first time back — he played safety last year. I think overall it’s very good stuff. That’s a group you’ll see improve each game. (Looked like Simpson limped off) “Yeah, he’s good. We’re hopeful that we will have everybody to go to Georgia.”
About the development of the Auburn running game… “Chad’s (Morris) got the playbook and he can do a lot of different things in the running game. You’ll see us each week improving the running game. Having a lot of different things you can do is good. The more we can settle in on five linemen as we talked about Sunday, that up front will help us as far as the running game goes.”
On Bo Nix’s pooch punts… “Last week he executed extremely well. I think we pinned them down more than one time and I think in that series we almost got a safety, it was close and they punted out of their end zone and then the other one was inside the 10-yard line. Bo did a really good job executing that. We’ll see what happens moving forward. Some games that’s good, some games it’s not. Last Saturday, it was a good weapon.”
On defensive adjustments… “The great thing is it’s his (Coach Kevin Steele) 5th year with us, too, so our players know the system, and they know after he makes changes, they know what to do and to execute it. Both of these factors combined are good.”
On Georgia’s secondary limiting receiving yards last year… “First of all, they have very good players, and they are very well coached, so it’s a combination of that. Like I said, they do I good job of mixing things up, but they also do a good job of keeping things in front of them. It’s tough to get explosive plays. Of course, that will be a key. We’re going to have to have some explosive plays in the passing game to be able to score points, so I think that’s important.”
Has limited seating capacity taken away some home-field advantage… “It’s a unique year; I think everybody is learning as they go. I do expect it loud over there and we’ll to be able to adjust to that. Each week, teams will learn; this will be our first road game. We were able to have a home game and I think our crowd did a really good job, like I talked about after the game. We expect it to be loud and we’ll learn after this first road game”
On his relationship with Dell McGee… “I was the coordinator here and Dell was the head coach in Georgia at a high school. He’s an Auburn guy, so I just kept my eye on him, got to know him. When I got the job in 2013, I felt really strong about hiring as many high school coaches (as I could). I was a high school coach that had the opportunity that I was given; I wanted to do the same thing for him. He was one of those guys that came onboard with us in 2013 and did an excellent job. He’s a really good person and I felt like he would have the chance to be successful at the college level, and he’s done that at the two stops he’s been at.” (Will he be a head coach some day?) “I think he’s a very talented guy. He’s on the rise and it doesn’t surprise me.”
On the defensive line’s play… “I was impressed [against Kentucky]. We were concerned going in; they had four returning starters and they led the league in rushing last year. I was impressed with our guys. We played a lot of different guys. You look at Georgia’s offensive line and they are a good offensive line, too. That group up front will have a chance to improve each week.”
Covid update…“Our latest testing, we had no positives again, so that’s a really good sign. It’s something that we have to continue. It’s a sacrifice that our guys have made. It’s one of those deals where you test three times a week and you kind of hold your breath each time. Not just for players, but for staff too. You just have to be ready for all the what-ifs. What-if this, what-if that. It’s just the nature of where we’re at this year. If our guys continue to do a super job like they have, that’s going to be a positive.”
On Bo Nix’s run performance…“I think you have to have everything available against a good defense, whether it’s run, pass or whatever. Bo [Nix] did some really good things last year. It was a tough loss. We were down by seven. We got our ball down there at the 19-yard line, completed one and then it was a tough overturn. I think it could’ve made a difference in the game, but I thought Bo did a really good job bringing us back. I felt that in the fourth quarter we had a really good chance with his leadership. He’s got a year under his belt; I think that’ll help him with this game playing them one other time before.”
Difficulty of playing in Athens, Ga.…“First of all, I think that’s one of the toughest places to play in the league. That’s just the facts of the matter. You have to play good football to have a chance to win. Then if it’s a close game, you have to find a way to make those plays to win. Like I said earlier, we’ll see about the crowd, but I do expect it to be loud. We’ll know more after the game as far as if it’s the same or not.”
On playing Georgia early in the season… “This year is so unique. It is what it is. It feels exactly as it would in November. We know how important it is. This game usually has a direct effect on the east and the west. It doesn’t matter if we’re playing today or in November or in March.”
On J.J. Pegues… “We thought he played well. He’s a guy that’s extremely talented and has great potential. We’ll see what that means moving forward but, for the first time, I’ll say all our freshmen we had out there did some good things. There’s nothing like a first game for a freshman. Like okay, that’s what it feels like, okay, that’s the speed — all those guys that played are really good players.”
About Tashawn Manning and Brodarious Hamm now in the starting lineup as cancer survivors… “It’s a great story. Both those young men have overcome so much. Then the fact this is the year you see a lot of people opting out around the country, and both those guys are hanging in there and played well Saturday — you know they’re veteran guys. They’re veteran guys, they’re tough guys, and they’ve both overcome a lot.”
On Nix’s ability to throw off his back foot and if it is a bit of a concern…“Yeah, I mean, you know, there are certain times that he had a little bit of pressure that he had to, but that was talking about the one he pump-faked off his back foot and he threw it about 40 yards across the field on a dime — I just told him good job. That was pretty good stuff. I thought he played real well. You’re always looking for things to improve on, but he keeps throwing dimes 40 yards down the field off the back foot, I’m going to give him a high-five, OK.”
On what makes the Auburn-Georgia rivalry special…“Well, I mean, you know it’s the oldest rivalry in the South, first of all. We recruit the state; I think a third of our team is from the state of Georgia. You can look at it since I’ve been at Auburn, it’s always been very, very important and the winner’s usually went on to do real well. So, it’s a big one.”
His impressions of J.T. Daniels…“He’s talented. That’s probably the best way to put it. We just know he’s talented.”
On Rhett Lashlee’s success at Miami…“What he’s done at Miami — what they were the last two years — what he’s done is unbelievable — probably the best coaching job in the country up to this point. But that doesn’t surprise me at all. He’s a real smart guy. He’s a great coach. He’s a relationship guy. His players believe in him. So, I’m real happy and he has a real offense going on right now. So, it’s exciting to watch.”
