Tag: Wesley Steiner

Robby Ashford receives interesting assessment from teammate

Linebacker Wesley Steiner was asked about the quarterback situation during Tuesday’s media availability, where he gave a fascinating description of Robby Ashford.

If you were to ask three people to give their opinions on who wins Auburn’s starting quarterback job this fall, you would receive three different answers.

Head coach Bryan Harsin has shared his assessment of the quarterbacks, but we have yet to hear fellow players’ thoughts on the situation.

That changed Tuesday when linebacker [autotag]Wesley Steiner[/autotag] took the podium to speak with the media following practice.

Steiner was asked to give his take on the quarterback situation from the perspective of a player that has to defend all three candidates every day at fall practice. He said that all three have been great, but there’s one quarterback in particular that causes Steiner personal fits.

“Robby (Ashford) is a pain in the butt, I’m not going to lie,” Steiner said, comparing Ashford to former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix. “A lot of times your defenses are designed to handle ten players because you normally don’t expect the quarterback to scramble. A quarterback creates extra gaps in the run game. Robby has definitely just been a problem and it has put me on high alert every time he’s in the game since there’s a good chance he might scramble out and extend plays.”

Steiner says that the reason Ashford is such a problem for opposing defenses is that he is super quick, just like last season’s starter.

“That was one thing with Bo Nix where it’s like once he gets moving, you’re turning at an angle on him because you don’t expect him to be so fast,” Steiner said. “Robby to me moves just as quickly. I remember in one practice I ran right by him and I felt the wind running past my ear. He’s fast.”

Steiner did not reveal his top choice, or provide any secret intel from within the program as to who is the front runner to win the job. But he did share his thoughts on who has been the biggest thorn in his side this postseason.

“The one I hate the most is Robby (Ashford) because he runs a lot.”

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Former Tiger included in “rising star coaching” list

Do not be surprised to see Travis Williams’ name linked to future head coaching vacancies.

During the mid-2000s, Auburn linebacker [autotag]Travis Williams[/autotag] was considered to be one of the best at his position.

Now, he is considered to be one of the best assistant coaches in the nation.

Williams was recently included in a list titled “25 assistants deserving strong head coach consideration” from On3 for his success in leading UCF’s defense as well as recruiting efforts.

Following a successful playing career at Auburn, Williams began his coaching career on the Plains, serving as an analyst from 2009-11. He spent time away from Auburn during the 2012 and 2013 seasons, gaining experience in on-the-field roles. He returned to Auburn, re-uniting with coach Gus Malzahn in 2014, where he would serve a variety of roles until 2020, when Malzahn was relieved of his coaching duties.

Williams was not retained on the staff once current head coach Bryan Harsin was hired, which allowed Williams to follow Malzahn to UCF, which is where he resides today.

One of Williams’ strong suits is recruiting. While at Auburn, he was responsible for bringing players such as [autotag]KJ Britt[/autotag], [autotag]Smoke Monday[/autotag], and [autotag]Zakoby McClain[/autotag], as well as players that are still on Auburn’s roster including [autotag]Owen Pappoe[/autotag] and [autotag]Wesley Steiner[/autotag] to the Plains.

During his career on the Plains from 2002-05,  Williams recorded 214 tackles, 22.5 of those were for a loss. His best season came during Auburn’s undefeated season in 2004, Williams made 80 stops with 9.5 tackles for loss and four interceptions.

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