Bicknell looks to make an impact

[aubiefifty 18,231]

'Intense' Bicknell looks to make an impact on Auburn's O-Line

ByJason Caldwell 23 hours ago

9

AUBURN, Alabama—An offensive line coach with experience both in the NFL and college game, Jack Bicknell, Jr. came to Auburn looking to help rebuild a group that lost four starters and two more seniors from a year ago. What Bicknell nor anyone else could have envisioned when he accepted the assignment is the global pandemic that would cancel spring practices and limit the amount of coaching that could be done until football practice started three weeks ago.

Now with 10 practice days under his belt along with walk-throughs and on-line meetings to try to get the offensive line as ready as possible when the Tigers finally put the pads on, Bicknell is trying to make an impact up front heading into the 2020 season.

Coach Gus Malzahn said, “He is learning these guys as we go. He doesn't have the benefit of spring under his belt so there is still that learning curve. He is getting to learn them, and they are learning about him.

“He's just putting them in different situations and trying to see how they respond," Auburn's head coach added. "One thing I can tell you is that he's a relationship guy, and our guys have responded. They're off to a very good start together.”

One of the ways Bicknell is trying to learn about the players is moving them around to different spots on the line to see how they respond. That has meant seeing Alec Jackson at both left tackle and left guard, Brandon Council at both guard and center and just about everyone else on the line moving around as well.

Wanting to see how players looked at other positions is something that is important this season with the potential of having different linemen out for a game or two because of quarantine protocols.

That has meant a whole lot of teaching in a very short time by Bicknell, something that is right up his alley. It has been a grind for everyone involved with Auburn trying to get ready for a game in now less than three weeks. While that could have meant for a stressful time, junior center and returning starter Nick Brahms said it has allowed the players to get a good feel for what their new coach demands from them and also how he wants things done.

“Yeah, he is intense,” Brahms said. “In the meeting room, he is intense. There are very specific techniques that you have to do. 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.

“Some of the stuff is just common-sense stuff that I really didn't even think about before," Brahms said. "Now I think about it and it's like, 'wow, that makes a lot of sense.' I think that is 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 going to be fun."

Jack Bicknell works with Auburn's offensive line. (Photo: Todd Van Emst, Auburn University)

9COMMENTS

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[twilli13 600]

Physicality. #1 need from this group. Need to get back to annihilating people off the line ala 2013. Add that with as more diverse passing game and we will be in very good shape. 

[Sizzle 3,948]

How much can the oline improve when none of these linemen are “his guys”? If I had to guess the run blocking might get a little better because these guys are allegedly known for run blocking and the last group of oline men were more pass block technicians

[CleCoTiger 1,957]

43 minutes ago, Sizzle said:

How much can the oline improve when none of these linemen are “his guys”? 

A really good teacher doesn't need a class of "his guys." How many stories are there from sports to academia to the armed forces where someone comes in and takes over a unit that was sad sack and turns it around? Stories like that are legion. Is Bicknell that kind of teacher? Dunno, but I hope so.

[Sizzle 3,948]

7 minutes ago, CleCoTiger said:

A really good teacher doesn't need a class of "his guys." How many stories are there from sports to academia to the armed forces where someone comes in and takes over a unit that was sad sack and turns it around? Stories like that are legion. Is Bicknell that kind of teacher? Dunno, but I hope so.

Yeah but this is CFB. Doesn’t matter how good of a teacher you are, maybe it can help a little bit but talent wins games. If you don’t have the talent then it’s only so far you can get with good teaching

[AUFriction 1,179]

32 minutes ago, Sizzle said:

Yeah but this is CFB. Doesn’t matter how good of a teacher you are, maybe it can help a little bit but talent wins games. If you don’t have the talent then it’s only so far you can get with good teaching

We had a beastly offensive line in 2010, and only 1 of those guys had a meaningful NFL career. Offensive line is about more than stars. Technique and chemistry are huge in OL play. JB grimes seemed like a nice enough dude, but he did a poor job with those things. 

[aucanucktiger 1,889]

12 hours ago, AUFriction said:

We had a beastly offensive line in 2010, and only 1 of those guys had a meaningful NFL career. Offensive line is about more than stars. Technique and chemistry are huge in OL play. JB grimes seemed like a nice enough dude, but he did a poor job with those things. 

Grimes pre cancer was a different coach than after.

[AUFriction 1,179]

33 minutes ago, aucanucktiger said:

Grimes pre cancer was a different coach than after.

Totally forgot that he had cancer.

[McLoofus 35,182]

13 hours ago, Sizzle said:

Yeah but this is CFB. Doesn’t matter how good of a teacher you are, maybe it can help a little bit but talent wins games. If you don’t have the talent then it’s only so far you can get with good teaching

Yup. Talent and attitude. Those 2010 and 2013 lines had tons of both. Lee Ziemba and Ryan Pugh were both top-5 guys are their positions- the two most important positions on the OL- nationally. GRob, Kozan, Dismukes and Miller were all 4* dudes, I think. And so many of those dudes were just straight dogs. Mean guys with a work ethic. 

And then there's experience, which you can't coach. But every one of those guys needed some time to grow into their positions (except Kozan, who was a stud recruit playing between our best LT of the decade and a soon-to-be Rimington award-winning center), and both of those seasons included several multi-year starters. I think we had 4 (four) 3rd/4th-year starters in 2010. 

An OL coach can't make chicken salad out of chicken shinola. That said, I think we've got more talent and attitude right now than we have the last couple years. (Almost definitely more attitude. How could we not?) We don't have the experience and continuity, but we haven't had that the last few years, either. And the lack of experience might actually work in Bick's favor. None of these guys are transitioning over from years of stability under another teacher. Not much to "un-learn", no secret grudges or pining for the last guy. 

TL;DR  You're right and this is a ragtag bunch but I think there are some advantages to what we have available

[Sizzle 3,948]

2 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Yup. Talent and attitude. Those 2010 and 2013 lines had tons of both. Lee Ziemba and Ryan Pugh were both top-5 guys are their positions- the two most important positions on the OL- nationally. GRob, Kozan, Dismukes and Miller were all 4* dudes, I think. And so many of those dudes were just straight dogs. Mean guys with a work ethic. 

And then there's experience, which you can't coach. But every one of those guys needed some time to grow into their positions (except Kozan, who was a stud recruit playing between our best LT of the decade and a soon-to-be Rimington award-winning center), and both of those seasons included several multi-year starters. I think we had 4 (four) 3rd/4th-year starters in 2010. 

An OL coach can't make chicken salad out of chicken shinola. That said, I think we've got more talent and attitude right now than we have the last couple years. (Almost definitely more attitude. How could we not?) We don't have the experience and continuity, but we haven't had that the last few years, either. And the lack of experience might actually work in Bick's favor. None of these guys are transitioning over from years of stability under another teacher. Not much to "un-learn", no secret grudges or pining for the last guy. 

TL;DR  You're right and this is a ragtag bunch but I think there are some advantages to what we have available

I think this group will be better run blockers and they might struggle a little in pass pro. So Chad is probably going to help them out at least early on by making a lot of quick passes and screens

The last oline was the opposite. They were good in pass pro but just couldn’t get a push in the run game. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

40 minutes ago, Sizzle said:

I think this group will be better run blockers and they might struggle a little in pass pro. So Chad is probably going to help them out at least early on by making a lot of quick passes and screens

The last oline was the opposite. They were good in pass pro but just couldn’t get a push in the run game. 

Agree. 

[auburn4ever 1,266]

From everything that I've read about coach Bicknell, he sounds like he's gonna fit in really well with his coaching and recruiting.