Our people are the best people.
By “our,” I mean the wonderful subscribers at AuburnSports.com, who enthusiastically responded to my first-ever request for questions via email. I am now told that email is a vestige the by-gone days before the Internet, which seems odd given that my mom used the STRK app to have me delivered all the way back in 1972.
Anyway, the questions. Some were great. Some were weird-ish. Some included totally inappropriate pics. One jerk even sent a message that included Christian Laettner’s shot to win the 1992 East Regional on infinite loop. JOKE’S ON YOU; YOU’RE THE ONE STILL REELING.
Let’s get to work …
Jason asks —
How is Travis Williams behind the microphone? We rarely get a chance to hear him interviewed. Can he get the Auburn fan base behind him and get the funds flowing? Let’s say Gus can’t get the job done this season, is T-Will a viable option to replace him?
Are you reading, Gus? THE PEOPLE DEMAND TO KNOW YOUR SUBORDINATES. I’ve told him the same thing, but then he said “no doubt” and make the same joke about my hair for the 743rd time. Ctl+Alt-Del.
Travis Williams is a treasure. He really is. Think about it: He was an overlooked player who became The Alpha on a 2004 defense that was among the saltiest ever fielded by Auburn. He played in the league, he was an aspiring rapper who actually put some good stuff on wax, served Auburn as a nobody assistant whose job was to energize and couple kids, he worked at NORTHERN IOWA to get his feet wet and now he’s one of the most valuable, full-time assistants at Auburn.
He’s as Auburn as Auburn gets. And, yes, he’s terrific behind the mic. He has an evangelical delivery that gets through to most everyone and his messages are wholly positive. In fact, he might be the very best thing about Auburn football right now.
With all that said, Williams probably isn’t ready to be a head coach at this level just yet. He has no meaningful experience as a coordinator, which is crucial because that job requires some management skills that Williams must demonstrate before earning The Top Job. Still, his career trajectory is up up up and nobody is prouder to call himself an Auburn alum than Travis Williams.
I might could do without his fish pics, though. If he’s out there hooking a 180-pound blue marlin, that’s terrific. Boast about it. A one-pound catfish from a retention pond? Maybe just send that one to Antarrious and call it a day.
JM11 asks —
Would you consider Auburn to be a Top 15 royalty in College Football? Which SEC schools would you consider HIGHER than Auburn in that poll?
I grew up in Southern California until I was 13 and never watched a college football game. Nobody did that I can remember. We went to the beach and played volleyball and skated (Tony Hawk grew up in my ‘hood) and listened to the Padres on the radio.
The first game I remember watching was the ’86 Iron Bowl, which of course was clinched by the Tigers on the strength of Lawyer Tillman’s late touchdown. I was jumping up and down, though I had no idea what Auburn was or where Auburn was.
So I have Auburn high on your list because of that very happy moment, though I never set foot on campus until 1998. LIfe’s funny that way.
Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma are in the very top tier. Those programs are at different points on the curve right now, but have been excellent for relatively long stretches during the past 30 years.
Some say Southern Cal is up there, but they’ve been generally mediocre since Pete Carroll left in 2009 — and were generally mediocre for the 12 seasons before his arrival. Penn State has been trending back upward of late, though it’s not quite challenging for national titles. Clemson’s jump into the title fray is the biggest story of the past four or five years, but those Tigers were mediocre for the 20 years before that.
I see Auburn in that next tier including the schools listed above along with LSU, Georgia, Florida State, Florida, Texas A&M and maybe Miami.
For their own peace of mind, of course, let your Tennessee friends keep trying to change your mind about the facts — one 10-win season since 2004. They crave affirmation because none is afforded on the field. The Vols were the pretty girl in high school who now looks 20 years older than she should and everybody laughs about it behind her back but she sees a DIME PIECE every time she looks in the mirror.
Who is better in an SEC context? The Crimson Tide stands atop the heap and, well, I don’t see much differentiation among that next group over a 30-year period. Texas A&M’s challenge is tougher now that it’s in the SEC, but I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt regarding the relative strength of the Southwest Conference.
Tommy asks —
Does Coach Dye continue to have any influence over, ability to interfere with, disrupt, or otherwise stick his nose into Auburn athletics?
Haven’t heard much about or from Coach Dye in a few years. He definitely exerted some influence during the Chizik years, mostly because Chizik felt obligated to lend him an ear, and Dye also spent some time with Malzahn back during the 2013 and ’14 seasons.
Some of Dye’s ideas about how to develop good defenders remain relevant, but his areas of expertise don’t exactly match with Malzahn’s. Plus, Kevin Steele is a more reasonable — and more willing – listener when it comes to that kind of stuff.
The coolest thing about Dye is how revered he remains along the Auburn sideline on gameday. Everyone knows him and everyone wants to talk with him. That includes teenagers. They all adore him; they think he’s a righteous dude.
Jason asks—
Have you been surprised at how far in the background that AD AG has been?
People ask me about Allen Greene from time to time and my answers seem to surprise people. They're not shocked to learn that Auburn's athletic director is bright and aware and funny and forward-thinking and generally the exact kind guy you'd want running an organization with your name on it.
The surprise is that Auburn people don't know that already. Greene has been on the job for approximately 18 months and, at least based on my totally unsophisticated polling system, a surprisingly small percentage of Auburn people feel like they know anything about him. That's by design insofar as Greene prefers to work behind the scenes.
He just doesn't engage in a ton of general outreach. He thinks he's best in small-group interactions, so he tends to search out situations that offer those kinds of opportunities. I've seen him speak to larger groups and he's great in those scenarios as well, but he's probably more introverted than everyone realizes. His general approach can work; it's just that Auburn people are used to Jay Jacobs' preachy, loquacious style and that provides quite a contrast to Greene's approach.
I believe Greene is the right guy at the right time for Auburn. His pragmatic policies won't always be a hit after the SEC Network Gold Rush era, but he (correctly, in my opinion) pays more attention to results and less attention on appearances.
"Kal" asks —
Can you give a quick shout-out to our men and women who are in prison in this column? The thoughts are coveted and we would all appreciate them.
Everybody makes mistakes — some much worse than others. Your thoughts are now out there for everyone to savor and appreciate. We heartily encourage all readers to obey laws and/or morals in your area.
CWeb4AU asks —
Better 90’s rap song: Scarred by Luke or Rump Shaker by WRECKX-N-EFFECT?
I'm more of an 80s rap guy, but I nonetheless have a very clear choice here.
In the spring of 1992, I traveled a few hours to visit some fellow Pi Kappa Alpha members at Western Kentucky. Since I was from the very small world of Transylvania University, my expectations for a proper fraternity house at a (relatively) big school were sky high. Bigger school, hotter girls, wilder parties, enough Milwaukee's Best to float a battleship. All the important things.
I ended up spending three hours at the House of Treble. There was no discernible bass in this alleged Big School Sound System, which really weirded me out since us small-school guys worked diligently to craft excellent bass for our raves. We did this to make the parties SOUND SICK under the wayward supposition that girls actually cared about sound. We learned years later that girls don't care about sound; they care about the scene or, in rare cases, the playlist itself.
At least we know that now.
Anyway, Rump Shaker is meant to be enjoyed loudly. It's a great loud song. Zoom-a zoom zoom and a boom-boom? AH YEAH. Full credit given to the WKU Pikes for cranking it up when the time came, but going full tweeter is unbecoming.
rwh2011 asks —
Do you believe now that Malzahn has openly taken the play calling duties and its no longer a diluted product of the OC’s play calling and Gus’ meddling that we could see an improved result? Does Gus think he’s about to blow the SEC wide open now that he’s officially calling all the plays again? If he does feel that way is he delusional or do you see major improvement this year?
Let's unpack this stash of luggage.
Chip Lindsey was told last season that he'd be calling plays and he was calling plays for a period of time. And then he wasn't — at least not with the usual level of autonomy. It's reasonable to view that as "meddling," which was my initial interpretation as well, but I've changed my mind about it during the past six months.
Malzahn is a play-caller. That's how he climbed the proverbial ladder and that's why he's a multi-millionaire today and that's why he'll make at least another $20 million. It's a little more complicated than that, sure, but Malzahn is at his best when he's calling plays he designed and he installed and he taught on the practice field. So he's going to be that guy during the 2019 season. It makes perfect sense to me; he's coaching for his job right now and he's wise to bet on himself at this juncture. That's what I'd do, too.
Will this change matter? I think it will, but not for the obvious reason. I expect Auburn will be significantly better at scoring points this season — assuming Malzahn's freshman quarterbacks aren't turnover-prone — and his vociferous return to the headset dialogue will be seen as the reason. The real reason, and we may not see this truly unfold until we're into October, is that new offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham brought with him some new-to-Auburn concepts that better fit what Auburn can do with the personnel it has right now.
Specifically, I expect to see more pace, more quarterback runs, more unbalanced formations that create extra gaps that defenses struggle to fit.
Malzahn definitely is confident these days, but he's always confident. No change there. I just think the Dillingham hire, and the fact that Dillingham represents Malzahn's top protege in Memphis head coach Mike Norvell, has wider implications than I initially understood. Malzahn may not trust Dillingham out of the gate, but Malzahn will trust these ideas and concepts.
If he learns to trust at least one of those quarterbacks, this team's fortunes will trend upward in a big way.
AgainstTheSpread asks—
Who do you think would be the most fun player on the 2019 AU Football team to interview if they were unfiltered and able to give open, honest answers?
There are some excellent nominees here.
Tailback Boobee Whitlow is as entertaining as it gets. A lot of his stories are hard to follow because he talks so fast and every story is a winding road, but the destination usually is worth the journey. Cornerback Noah Igbinoghene is so bright and straightforward, which are two of a sports writer's favorite traits in a player. Wideout Seth Williams tells it like it is. So does punter Arryn Siposs. The same goes for defensive tackle Derrick Brown.
The Best, for me, is reserved for two guys.
The first is offensive tackle Jack Driscoll, who is knowledgable and aware and friendly and generally willing to explain pretty much anything. If I really wanted to understand a specific football concept, or perhaps why a certain play worked well or failed spectacularly, Driscoll would be a great person to ask.
But that's not necessarily fun. That designation goes to safety Jeremiah Dinson, who has the unusual ability to answer questions thoroughly, think along with the person asking him questions and not get affected by the moment. Which is to say — Dinson is a great quote whether Auburn wins or loses. He might be in a bad mood, but the microphone will never record the difference.
He's reasonably open. He's as honest as he can be.
Dinson is one of my all-time favorite interviews. I hope we hear even more from him this fall.
Are you reading, Gus? THE PEOPLE DEMAND TO KNOW YOUR PLAYERS, TOO.
