Bicknell Jr. bringing intensity, 'NFL-type approach' to O-line
Auburn center Nick Brahms smiled and looked into the camera, standing with good posture at the podium for his 9:30 a.m. interview with reporters last Friday.
Though Auburn press conferences are bizarre these days — with players or Gus Malzahn at the podium, facing a large computer screen filled virtually with media via Zoom — the Tigers have taken it in stride, listening intently to each query about their 2020 fall camp and answering to the best of their ability what seems like every time.
On Friday, Brahms obviously fielded a handful of questions about Auburn's rebuilding offensive line, on which he is the lone returning starter from last season. The junior is always a thoughtful and upbeat speaker, exuding optimism with each response.
Though, if he had been slated to speak immediately after practice instead of before, he may have been too out of breath to talk for 15 minutes like he did Friday.
"We’re running every day after practice," Brahms said. "We’ve never done that as an offensive line, so I think it’s good for us."
Brahms explained that new O-line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. is bringing a number of fresh ideas to the group, including heightened conditioning once team-wide practice has concluded each day. That's to be assumed of a first-year coach — to introduce new perspectives on what it takes to be a successful offensive line.
Bicknell isn't cutting any corners, though. According to Brahms, the coach is just as intense in virtual meetings as he is on the practice fields.
“He's just putting them in different situations and trying to see how they respond," Malzahn said of Bicknell.
He's demanding excellence from his group day in and day out, particularly in the fundamentals.
"There are very specific techniques that you have to do," Brahms said of Bicknell. "Get your hat in the right place. Move your feet. Drive your knees. Get your hands in the right place. It's more of an NFL-type approach to coaching, I would say, with the technique and stuff."
That last descriptor shouldn't come as a surprise. Bicknell coached offensive line in the NFL from 2009-15 with the Giants, Chiefs, Steelers and Dolphins before landing with Ole Miss in 2017. Once the Rebels' staff began to turn over under new head coach Lane Kiffin, Malzahn plucked Bicknell to replace J.B. Grimes in January.
Brahms is now on the third position coach of his Auburn career, noting that Bicknell's approach has put a particular focus on the basics like Brahms hasn't yet experienced.
As fall camp continues and Bicknell continues his instruction, Brahms said he and his teammates have had more than a few aha moments when it comes to new techniques being introduced.
Bicknell has 19 years under his belt as an offensive line coach in the college and pro ranks, but he still understands the value of simplicity.
"Some of the stuff is just common-sense stuff that I really didn't even think about before," Brahms said of Bicknell's coaching. "Now I think about it and it's like, wow, that makes a lot of sense."
With practices combining Bicknell's fiery demeanor with his insistence on sound execution, Brahms said this preseason has been the most demanding — and physical — fall camp he's been part of as a Tiger.
And as Auburn's staff continues to study its offensive linemen closely, hoping to soon land on a starting five, the Tigers are excited to see how Bicknell's coaching will pay off when the real games begin.
"I think those drills are really created for it to be harder on us, so when it becomes game time, it’s easier," Brahms said. "I think that's going to really carry over to the practice field and the game field for us in the fall. I'm really looking forward to playing with the stuff that he's coached us. It's gonna be fun."
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