AN AUBURNSPORTS MAILBAG: The second one
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By “our,” I mean the wonderful subscribers at AuburnSports.com, who enthusiastically responded to a recent request for questions. Some of those questions were great. Some were weird-ish. Some included totally inappropriate pics.
One jerk even sent a message indicating that he viewed the proposed, revised AU logo as a stroke of genius. To you, anonymous rabble-rouser, I say that perfection knows no upgrade path. An icon is an icon because it's inherently iconic. Would anyone change the formula of COCA-FREAKIN-COLA? I didn't think so.
Let’s get to work …
Wyoming asks —
Who is the most surprising winner of a position battle you have ever witnessed? Why?
I had to go back a few years with this one. Probably it'd have to be Tyronne Green jumping ahead of Leon Hart at guard entering the 2007 season. Green was a relatively unknown kid from Pensacola coming off a quiet first two years while Hart was a former five-star prospect who'd moonlighted at tackle with some success. He now was in prime position to capture a full-time job at guard.
Green, however, had a toughness that offensive line coach Hugh Nall really liked — and Nall valued toughness above just about everything. Putting Green ahead of Hart seemed like a motivational tactic at the time, but Nall's instincts were on the mark here. Green was a two-year starter on the Plains and later spent four seasons with the San Diego Chargers. Hart never moved beyond a reserve role.
CalabasasTiger asks —
With Brown, Coe, Davidson all moving on after the season, how big of a concern is the defensive line moving forward? Are you surprised by the lack of emphasis put on recruiting that position(s)?
This should be, and is, the Tigers' most pressing personnel question heading into the 2020 season. In fact, one could argue that it's among the most pressing even TODAY considering the lack of options at defensive tackle.
Let's start here: Derrick Brown is a tremendous tackle. Nick Coe is going to play a lot of tackle this season and he'll almost certainly be at least one tick above SEC average at that spot. (He's an end by trade.) Tyrone Truesdell is the third tackle right and he'll probably be fine in that role. The fourth tackle probably will be Coynis Miller Jr., though he just recently was cleared for contact after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery. When will he be ready to actually help? Coaches think it'll be soon, perhaps as early as the Oregon game, but it's not like he's a ready-made solution in there. He's just a sophomore.
The fourth tackle probably should be Daquan Newkirk, but he's in an orange jersey and his availability is very much in doubt. That means Marlon Davidson probably will serve as the fourth tackle because THERE ISN'T REALLY ANYONE ELSE AROUND TO DO THAT JOB.
Looking forward to 2020, Auburn is hoping that Truesdell and Miller and Newkirk can help. Plus, freshman Charles Moore could be a factor assuming he adds 30 pounds and acclimates to Rodney Garner's (very high) standards for tackle play. That quartet constitutes a reasonable plan at at a difficult position; Newkirk's incredibly unlucky run of injuries has really affected things here.
The Tigers have a decent medium-range plan in place at end — with Big Kat Bryant, T.D. Moultry, Derick Hall, Jaren Handy, Colby Wooden and Caleb Johnson all in the system and expecting to help the team in some capacity this fall.
Still, tackle recruiting will be big. Jeffrey Lee forecasts the Tigers likely taking three tackles this cycle including a junior-college guy to provide some immediate assistance. Will that be enough to stem the loss of Brown-Davidson-Coe? Probably not, but a strong class this winter certainly will help.
jhead34382 asks —
What’s your opinion of Kenny Dillingham as a collaborator and de facto Offensive Coordinator 8 months on the job? As someone who was originally very skeptical, I’ve been extremely impressed and am interested to hear your or Bryan’s thoughts. If possible, compare and contrast him with other Gus protégés like Rhett Lashlee or Eli Drinkwitz.
I think a lot of Dillingham, but we all know the jury is out and will be out a long time on this hire. Why? Because it's impossibly to know exactly how much assistance Malzahn wants or needs or is willing to consider as a play-caller.
Dillingham has a ton of energy. His enthusiasm changes the tenor at practice — at least during the practices I've attended. He jumps around, the players then jump around. Everybody seems energized. Considering the fact that Malzahn and J.B. Grimes and Kodi Burns are generally low-key people, Dillingham's personality provides something much different.
Drinkwitz, who now is head coach at Appalachian State, was more studious than Dillingham. He was (and is) a technical genius, in my opinion, and a guy who aims to gain advantages through Xs and Os. Lashlee also is more reserved that Dillingham, though I wouldn't call him a technical genius. His strength was rooted in his pragmatism; he was good at understanding his players and not getting carried away with ideas that didn't fit what his players did best. I also thought Lashlee struggled a bit with confidence at times.
Dillingham is among the most confident coaches I've ever known. I still don't totally understand what he brings, or will be permitted to bring, from a technical perspective. Until I get a feel for that, it's silly to travel farther down this road.
lewis3882 asks —
Now that Narlob (Marlon Davidson) has thrown out the Taco Bell Nacho Fries, in exchange for celery; where do you see his ceiling at this season? All-SEC?
It's great that Davidson has made some significant changes toward being a more fit player, but fitness hasn't been his problem. Injuries have been his problem. He's been working around various knee, him and elbow ailments throughout the past three seasons.
Will re-shaping his body help avoid injury? It's possible. Anything that gives Davidson more confidence in his ability to play at a high level helps — even if it's a placebo. I've always seen Davidson as an All-SEC player. His pass rushing is limited by his lack of elite agility, but he's generally good at creating and maintaining outside leverage as a strong-side end. His never-say-die approach to the game also is a plus because he's never really "out" of a play.
If he stays healthy and aggressive from start to finish, he'll be a major contributor to this team's success and he'll be a rich man this time next year. Even if it doesn't all come together, Davidson still has grown as much as any player I've known at Auburn.
AuTigers083 asks —
Do you like pineapple on your pizza?
I do not like pineapple on my pizza. I also never have tasted pineapple on my pizza.
Those two statements may seem incongruent, but they're not. That's because pizza is made for meat. As a red-blooded American, I am consumed by the idea of getting as much meat on top of my pizza because we all know that MORE IS BETTER. The only thing better than good pepperoni is a DOUBLE ORDER of good pepperoni.
Italian sausage versus pork topping? There are no losers. I'LL TAKE BOTH.
Pineapple isn't meat. Maybe I'd consider pineapple if it was a vegetable, which means I could feel more healthy enjoying it as an accoutrement to my veritable BUTCHER'S SHOP of real toppings. People who eat pineapple on their pizza also wear socks with their Crocs, fill Facebook with sad stories about upset pups during 4th of July fireworks and cheer for the Patriots. KINDLY GO AWAY.
JoshAu99 asks —
Probably been asked but who’s the best player you’ve covered as a journalist? Which school has the best press box food?
Best player I've ever covered? It's Cameron Newton. He's the most dominant college athlete of my lifetime and that's not even debatable. He was a walking, talking third-down conversion who accelerated away from PATRICK FRICKIN' PETERSON for a touchdown.
I also covered Kentucky during a past life. Kentucky used to have a shooting guard named Ron Mercer whom I still consider the smoothest and best basketball player I've ever seen with my own eyes. He played eight seasons in the NBA. Mercer will end up as a footnote because he was a shooting guard who couldn't shoot the three, but believe me when I say that he was a baller. An absolute baller.
Press box food is a touchy subject for me because too many reporters use social media to push their various agendas about the FREE FOOD we receive. I am not that guy. I will never be that guy. I am genuinely appreciative of the FREE FOOD I receive in exchange for showing up to work. Auburn has fed me hundreds of meals free of charge through the years and I pay them back by giving Malzahn a hard time.
I kid.
South Carolina basketball had an incredible spread the last time I was there, but it's been a while. LSU offers writers beer after games, which is a terrific practice. Georgia offers writers deli sandwiches after games, which is very much appreciated. As is the pizza Auburn offers us. The Chick-fil-A games in Atlanta have all-you-can-eat Chick-fil-A stuff, so, yeah. ALL YOU CAN EAT is like a mating call for sports writers. I once saw a writer eat an entire Chick-fil-A chocolate cookie in one bite and then eat ANOTHER COOKIE as a chaser. Two cookies in two bites — and he still didn't choke as badly as the Falcons.
WillAU89uscg asks —
Of all the coaches that you have covered who was the best at dog cussing a young man?
It's a matter of style. Nobody cusses with more anger than Will Muschamp. He's not the loudest cusser I've ever heard — that designation goes to former defensive line coach Terry Price — but Muschamp has a great ANGRY FACE and ANGRY HAIR and he'll charge toward people when he's fired up. All things considered, he's the best for me.
Rodney Garner brings both volume and salty language on a consistent basis. His standard is high. His biggest strength is inflection; Garner often seems so damn disappointed when he's cussing at someone. It's like he'd really rather not cuss, but the kid keeps BENDING AT THE WAIST and, son, THAT WILL NOT WORK.
Kevin Steele is good at this as well. So was Hugh Nall a few years back.
A sneaky cusser is Bruce Pearl. Most of his cussing is used to accentuate an important point rather than emasculate players, but I watched him hover over Bryce Brown a few years back and WHOO BOY. Pearl believed, rightly in my opinion, that Brown was sulking too much and letting hurt feelings affect his play. So Pearl stopped practice one day, walked over to Brown along the sideline and gave him a Hall-of-Fame dog cussing that made me feel shame — and I was taking GREAT PHOTOS. This lasted maybe two minutes. The only thing happening in the gym was Pearl yelling at Brown.
I think the message was received. That was around the time Brown became a star shooter and defensive asset during the 2017-18 season. The right words and the right message at the right time can make all the difference.
SofaKingJABA asks —
Your gods honest opinion...should Gus be coaching at AU or not?
I'm probably asked this question more often than anything else. The answer really depends on how you view Malzahn's role.
He was hired to win games and he's won games. He has, so far, been on pace with his predecessors in a general sense. So if you view him as a caretaker of the Auburn tradition, maintaining the Auburn standard, then he's been at least adequate.
If you view him as someone who should be raising the Auburn standard, well, he's fallen a bit short of that. He was terrific in 2013. He was terrific for most of 2017 until a final stanza that was nothing short of a disaster. Opinions on his 2018 season mostly are negative; he was one unofficial vote away from being dismissed.
I tend to believe Malzahn is judged a bit too harshly on The Bunker — largely because of the way he loses some big games (odd strategy decisions), the way things unfolded in 2017 and the way personnel issues both at quarterback and offensive line linger for years at a time. Those criticisms are justified. I understand the distrust.
While he certainly hasn't knocked the ball out of the park, Malzahn also hasn't been a bust. One thing we all can agree upon is that Malzahn must accomplish something this fall to remain in place. That fact cannot be disputed.
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