What Gus Malzahn said Monday

[aubiefifty 18,231]

247sports.com

In his own words: What Gus Malzahn said Monday

ByPhillip Marshall

13-17 minutes

OPENING STATEMENT

“First of all, we’re just excited to start practice today. We had our team meeting last night, and you can just really feel the excitement of our players. I’m very proud of our players and our staff and the way they’ve handled themselves through this whole time off: During the spring, operating with our players off back home, and our coaches working through Zoom. And then once they got back on campus, the way they handled themselves through all the ups and downs of the summer to get to this point. There’s a lot of excitement around our building. Everybody is ready to get started.

Todd Van Emst, Auburn University

“We will practice this week Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. We’ll take off Friday and we’ll scrimmage on Saturday. Next week, we’ll start getting in a routine. We’ll have a five-week routine. We’re going to practice Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, off Friday and then scrimmage on Saturday. That’s going to be our routine for five weeks, which I think is really good.

“We will be doing more 11 on 11. We will be doing more scrimmage reps than we’ve ever done before in fall camp with not being able to go through spring, evaluating our players. We need to see what the guys can do right now, who needs more work. We need to create depth. That’s really going to be factor – not just for us but everybody around college football is creating depth. You’ll hear me talking a whole lot about 3-deep when usually you’re talking about 2-deep. It’s just a new day as far as that’s concerned, but at the same time, it’s a great opportunity for our young guys. I really believe the team with the most depth could have a big advantage, and that’s really what we’ve been talking to with our players.”

ON COVID-19 TESTING AND A NEW PUNTER

“We brought our guys back June 4. We’ve tested our players 863 times, which is a little bit more than seven times per players. We’ve had 33 positives over the course of the summer. We tested our staff over five times apiece. We’ve had one coach test positive. That was earlier in the summer. We’re using to the gold standard test, the test that they actually stick it way up your nose and the saliva, and so I really appreciate our administration with the amount of testing they’ve allowed us to do and with the best testing out there available for us with that.  We did test our team last week. We got some very good news. We had zero positives. We tested our team and staff. So that gives us a lot of confidence going into fall camp today and getting started.”

“We will have four players that will not start with us. They’re still going through their protocols, but they will be back with us by the end of the week. Oscar Chapman, our Australian punter, he arrived in the States on Saturday and he is going through the acclimation period right now. We expect him to get with us in the next week-and-half. I think overall you can just really see the excitement of our players and our coaches, too. It’s been a long time coming. We’re excited to get out there with our players today and start practice.”

ON IMPORTANCE OF DEPTH ON OL, ELSEWHERE

“Normally, on the offensive line for example, if you’ve got three tackles, three guards and two centers, you’re feeling pretty good. It’s completely different now. We’ve got to get our 3s ready. With that strategically, the way we’re going to set up practice these next five weeks – offer more reps. We’re going to get creative, and there are going to be times where we’re going to have two separate deals going just to evaluate our players. Let our guys get more reps than they normally would so we can evaluate them and get them ready to play.

“At the same time, you’ve got to be thinking about the coaches, too. If you have a coach go down, you’ve got to have two play-callers, you’ve got to have an assistant for an assistant. We’ll be thinking about all those things in fall camp and just getting us prepared. It’s all going to be about being flexible. The teams that can overcome adversity and be flexible, I think they’re going to have a big advantage.”

ON THE LAST FIVE MONTHS

“Yeah. It’s been a definite learning experience for everyone. The communication just between our coach to coach, our player to coach – we’ve got really good relationships. I think it’s really brought us closer together. It has been interesting.

“It’s finally good to go out there and actually start practice. That’s what players love to do. That’s what coaches love to do. That’s really why there’s a lot of excitement because we’re finally up to this point. That’s what I told our team yesterday at the first of the meeting. I told them, ‘Guys, think back to the last five months and everything that we’ve done. We’re finally here. We’re finally getting ready to start football.’ There was a lot of smiles on their faces when we talked about that.”

ON PLAYERS OTHER THAN CHANDLER WOOTEN, TRAIVON LEONARD OPTING OUT

“Not up to this point. They’re the only two. We definitely honor that. We respect that. That was their decisions. If somebody else does, we’ll feel the same way. But I have not been approached by anybody at this time.”

ON PLAYERS EXPRESSING THEIR VIEWS

“Our players having a voice like a lot of them have up to this point, being unified as one, that’s really what we plan on doing. That’s been our approach. We’ve got some great leadership, and our administration supports that also.”

ON SEEING BIG 10, PAC-12 CANCEL FALL SEASON

“The thing about it, we’ve been talking for probably five to six weeks about just controlling what we can control and not getting caught up with the ups and downs and everything that’s going on outside. That’s the way we take it – day by day and week by week. We’re just concerned about us. As of right now, we’re getting ready for the season and that’s our mindset. We can’t get distracted. Our guys have done a good job of that. Control what we can control. We’re getting ready to play, and that’s our mindset.”

ON NOT KNOWING THE SCHEDULE UNTIL MONDAY

“This is a year about adjusting. The teams that adjust are going to have an advantage. It is what it is. We’re going to figure out who we play the very first game later today, and our coaches will start working extremely hard as far as that goes – behind the scenes, on off days – to get prepared. Usually you go into the season and you’ve got the first three opponents broken down. We’ll be playing catch-up really fast along with everybody in our conference the next few weeks.”

ON DIFFERENT KIND OF PRESEASON CAMP

“I think it’s a challenge for everybody. I just told our staff, we’re going to be very creative, unconventional, unique. Of course, I’ve had the opportunity to be a high school coach at three different levels and a head coach at two different levels, so I think that’s right down my alley as far as being unique and being able to adjust. We feel really good about our plan, the way that we’re going to go about it – as far as evaluating our guys, developing depth, not just for players but our coaches. I think that’s a real thing that we have to be prepared for. And so we’re setting up practice different than we’ve ever done.

“I’m excited about it. I think our players are.  The goal is to get more information in a faster period of time than we normally do. This isn’t a time for tradition. I really believe the teams that can be flexible, they’ll have a chance to separate themselves.”

ON LEFT TACKLE POSITION

“That’s two of them right there (Austin Troxell, Kilian Zierer) and then Alec Jackson. I’m going to be honest with you. We have an idea of the first five that are going out there. That has zero to do with who we think is starting. We’ve got multiple guys, 10-12, that I really feel like are truly fighting for a starting spot up front. I know Coach Bicknell and Coach Morris are very open-minded. I’ve tried not to give them any kind of preconceived thoughts in the past about this and that. Let’s let whoever is ready to play, play.

“The big factor is developing depth. The old days of three tackles, three guards and two centers, that’s a day in the past as far as we’re concerned. But that gives other people real opportunities, and my experience is when you give people real opportunities, you get a few that really seize the moment. So that’s really been our message to our players up front.”

ON INJURY STATUS OF TROXELL AND ZIERER

“I think they’re real close. I know Trox, he’s ready to go. Kilian, talking to him the other day, he thought he was getting really close to 100 percent, too, and has been cleared medically, so that’s good.”

ON PLAYERS PROTECTING THEMSELVES

“The thing about our team is they’ve done a lot this summer. They’ve done a lot of sacrificing. We’ve learned through the process. There was a time in mid-summer where we had quite a few of those 33 positives. Our team just came together and started being accountable to each other. But when we’re outside this building – we’ve done a really good job inside the building – but when we go outside this building, we’ve got to be responsible. We’ve been preaching to our guys about masks, social distancing. Your circle has got to be very small with who you’re with. Our guys have done a super job with that. I think because of the sacrifice that they’ve done to get here, these guys want to play.

“To students, you’re in it with us and we need your help. Wear your mask, social distance, be responsible. We knew this was going to be a telling time right now with all the students coming back to campus. What we told our guys is let’s control us. Most of our classes are going to be online for our players. We’re just doing everything we can to really stay self-isolated to protect our players, and we have a good chance of playing the season.”

ON A CHANGES CAUSED BY PANDEMIC

“I think that's a great question. Definitely appreciate what we have, appreciate being able to coach the players we have and being around the players. That’s what's fun for coaches is to coach the players on the field, put a plan together, have a dream together and try to achieve that dream and that plan. That's what we love to do. The appreciation level is very high. You go through adversity, which we all have done, and you get to this point, you have a way of looking back and appreciating things even more than you used to.”

ON CAYLIN NEWTON

“The thing about Caylin, you’ve got to look at his career before he got here at Howard and what he did. He was a record-setting quarterback at Howard and leading that team. I think they had the biggest upset in the history of college football when they went to UNLV, so he’s got a lot of winner in him. And like you said, we've known each other a long time. So when he decided to be a grad transfer, I just tried to encourage him to come here., be a part and help us win. He has a lot of intangibles. He's a really smart guy, he's been a quarterback. He's a leader, I think he's going to have a chance to help us in a lot of different ways – not just at wide receiver but some other ways too.”

ON ENGAGING PLAYERS’ CONCERNS

“What we've tried to do is be honest and transparent and open with our players, with their parents. Open communication, and that's the way we went about it. And I'd like to think that our players would say that. Like I said, we've got great relationships with our players. I think that's very important.”

ON TIME FOR REFLECTION

“One thing when we first started, I guess right after spring break when everything was shut down, I really challenged our staff and I challenged our players to really reflect and look at themselves. I know for me personally, and for 30 years, it was the very first time that my world even slowed down. It was extremely good for me to kind of reflect through the course of my whole career and really what helped me get here and what the characteristics were and just appreciation of all the players that I've coached and all the all the coaches I've coached with that have helped me along this journey. It was really good for me to reflect.

“I just want to, first of all, be a better person. Now that we've had this time. And then secondly, a better coach and a better leader. And so it was really good for me, very inspiring, eye-opening in some ways. And another thing too, sometimes you kind of get back to who you are at your core, and what's important to you and really what's not, and that was really the way I looked at it. I'm extremely excited to get back out there with our players after this time.”

ON GRAD TRANSFER QB CHAD LOY

“Grant is a guy that Coach Morris and the staff at Arkansas started recruiting, had a relationship with, and we just felt like we needed some experience at the quarterback position. And then he’s got the flexibility to do some other things as far as H-back or even help on special teams. He’s off to a really good start, and I know his teammates have been very impressed with him since he’s been here.”

ON RB MARK-ANTONY RICHARDS

“The thing that I’m excited about with Mark, I really feel like he’s healthier. Last year he had the tough injury and never was able to show what he could do. I know he’s really looking forward to camp and being healthy.”

ON OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEWCOMERS

2COMMENTS

“One-hundred percent. I think, realistically, as coaches we have to have our mindset that we may be playing our No. 3 guy at a certain position. That’s just the way it is. What we’ve got to do is we have five-and-a-half weeks to get those guys prepared to do that. How do you get prepared? You get prepared through reps. Like I said, it’s more unconventional than it’s ever been. We’ve got to get those guys as good as they possibly can be. That should be real exciting for all of our guys that they have a real chance to help. And they have to have the mindset that it’s next man up.

“I’m ready to go. If I got thrown in Week 1 and I was the No. 3 guy on the depth chart, or even starting, there’s no telling the different scenarios that we’re going to face throughout the year with all the challenges we’re going to have.”

">247Sports

[tigerman1186 537]

This is the most 'open' I've ever heard coach talk about the team....be nice to see this last through out the season....stay safe everyone...

[3rdgeneration 6,644]

I'm very cautiously excited about this team!

[alexava 6,974]

1 hour ago, 3rdgeneration said:

I'm very cautiously excited about this team!

I’m cautious about the team. I very excited just to be having a season. I have zero expectations. 

[AURex 2,255]

Okay, help me on this. 33 players tested positive. Of those, 4 will not be starters. So  29 satarters tested positive? ??????   Um .... okay ..... help me here.

 

[Auctoritas 2,907]

2 hours ago, AURex said:

Okay, help me on this. 33 players tested positive. Of those, 4 will not be starters. So  29 satarters tested positive? ??????   Um .... okay ..... help me here.

 

Four will not start camp with everyone else because they're going through the protocols. Has nothing to do with the starters.

[SaltyTiger 8,569]

11 hours ago, AURex said:

Okay, help me on this. 33 players tested positive. Of those, 4 will not be starters. So  29 satarters tested positive? ??????   Um .... okay ..... help me here.

 

33 positive test are results from testing over the summer

 

Auburn has administered 836 COVID-19 tests to its football team and staff this summer, with a total of just 34 positive cases since June 4, coach Gus Malzahn announced Monday.

Each of Auburn’s players was tested at least seven times this summer, with staff members receiving five tests apiece. In all, Auburn had 33 positive cases among its players and one case among its coaching staff, including three asymptomatic positive tests among players upon their initial return to campus in early June. It is unclear how many of the 34 total positives were asymptomatic, though at least one -- defensive back Traivon Leonard -- experienced symptoms, as described in his Instagram post announcing his decision to opt out of the 2020 season.

[aubiefifty 18,231]

55 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

33 positive test are results from testing over the summer

 

Auburn has administered 836 COVID-19 tests to its football team and staff this summer, with a total of just 34 positive cases since June 4, coach Gus Malzahn announced Monday.

Each of Auburn’s players was tested at least seven times this summer, with staff members receiving five tests apiece. In all, Auburn had 33 positive cases among its players and one case among its coaching staff, including three asymptomatic positive tests among players upon their initial return to campus in early June. It is unclear how many of the 34 total positives were asymptomatic, though at least one -- defensive back Traivon Leonard -- experienced symptoms, as described in his Instagram post announcing his decision to opt out of the 2020 season.

i miss you salty........

[AuburnNTexas 7,317]

34 positive test including one coach. All tested negative on last test so I am assuming the 4 who are not with them tested negative but have to finish the protocols before being allowed to rejoin team.  It sound like they have done a really good job of containing it among players and coaches. Next two weeks with students on campus will really tell the story.

Gus was very open, you can tell he loves the game his players and his coaches.  He is also being realistic in realizing how important depth is in case a starter tests positive.  That said in 2-3 weeks if Auburn and other schools are seeing similar results when testing team I expect the season to at least start.  If there is an outbreak at a few schools I think it will stop before it starts.

Right now I am mildly optimistic that we will at least start the season.  I am also very PROUD of Auburn , Gus and the coaches who I think have done a great job communicating with players and family, keeping players safe, and giving us a chance to have a football season.  

[bigbird 60,939]

33 out of 863 and, per PTB, some of the 33 test were 2nd positives to previously known cases. That's very encouraging.

[jAUSon 2,836]

The more positives, the more they get that crap behind them. How awesome it would be if the news was "everybody has had it and recovered"? Half full glass, is how I see it

[passthebiscuits 7,021]

3 hours ago, bigbird said:

33 out of 863 and, per PTB, some of the 33 test were 2nd positives to previously known cases. That's very encouraging.

Agree, Bird.

Doing the swab test as well (Sofia antigen) which gives results in 15 minutes. It has proven reasonably reliable (a few false negatives.)  The NBA bubble uses the spit test, and while it is certainly less invasive, I have some doubts about it’s accuracy. 
If we could manage the spit test on a weekly basis, it could prove effective to keep our players on the field with some degree of reassurance.

I just don’t think it’s wise for Gus to share any of this data with the public. I’m surprised he did, actually. 

We are going to see increased positives on campus. It’s how we progress and deal with them that will tell the tale, imo. 
 

[bigbird 60,939]

1 hour ago, passthebiscuits said:

I just don’t think it’s wise for Gus to share any of this data with the public. I’m surprised he did, actually. 

Can't get a straight answer from him at any time during his tenure and then he releases this little tidbit. Just strange.

[fredst 9,070]

I think that the pressure for transparency on this issue overwhelms Gus’ natural tendency to be cryptic about pretty much everything

[AuburnTiger4Life 2,225]

Would love to hear @passthebiscuits insider stuff on practices. I know there isn’t much to go on right now though lol