Will Hastings remembers a time not too long along when animosity swept the Auburn locker room as the team struggled on the field.
The now-senior receiver wasn't a leader back then. But he is now, and he's remembering back to the way that year's leadership council handled the angst and reproach to help him make sure this season's squad sticks together, no matter the product on Saturdays.
"Coach Gus Malzahn, brings it up, and the leadership team brings it up ― we're a team," Hastings said. "No matter what happens. We've had that issue in the past, and we've seen how it kind of hurts the team."
Hastings said he reminds players to think back to summer workouts, when they train and grind for hours on end in groupings that are not based on position or whether they're offense, defense or special teams.
"There's no sides about it," Hastings said.
The questions about Auburn's state as a team this season ― and as a program overall ― stem for its loss over the weekend to No. 4 Georgia, 21-14 in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
The loss knocked the Tigers down a peg from their realistic shot at a New Year's Six bowl berth and their narrow hopes of a College Football Playoff appearance, forcing Gus Malzahn to adjust his objectives for the season. The seventh-year coach said Tuesday the team is now focused on winning 10 games for the third time in his tenure on the Plains.
And the loss mirrored Auburn's other two this year: defense fighting for four quarters, and offense failing to produce until the waning minutes. In its three defeats at the hands of No. 11 Florida, No. 4 Georgia and No. 1 LSU, Malzahn's offense was outscored by a combined 48-23 through the first three quarters of each game, including 21-0 against the Dawgs, marking the first time a Malzahn-led Auburn team entered the fourth quarter with a goose egg on the scoreboard.
"Everyone has to execute the best that they can," Hastings said of the offense. "Some players are doing it, some players aren't. Some coaches are doing it, some are not. So it's just a whole team thing."
The Tigers will be hoping to rebound in the scoring department against FCS Samford this Saturday at 11 a.m. CST at home. Then comes the 83rd Iron Bowl and a bowl matchup, both of which Auburn is keen on winning to end the year on an upswing and silence the doubters to a degree.
"It just comes down to that leadership standpoint where guys stand up and say, 'If you don't like what's going on, you can go ahead and leave,'" Hastings said.
NOT A MEMBER?
JOIN AUBURNSPORTS.COM TODAY to enjoy around-the-clock content including stories, analysis, videos, podcasts, call-in shows and The Greatest Message Board In The History of The Internet.
