'This place is special'

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Zac Etheridge on being back at Auburn: 'This place is special'

ByJason Caldwell

3-4 minutes

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AUBURN, Alabama—When Bryan Harsin hired Zac Etheridge to come back to a place he calls home to coach for the Auburn Tigers it brought in a young guy that has unbridled energy about his alma mater. Coming in from Boise State, Harsin knew he needed to have some guys with connections to Auburn and the Southeastern Conference on his initial staff. Following his hiring and the introduction of Etheridge to the current team, Etheridge showed his new boss exactly why he was the right guy at the right time for the Tigers.

“I don’t know every single word he said,” Harsin said of when Etheridge talked to the team. “I just know those three or four minutes that he spoke, the hair on the back of my neck stood up and certainly he brought it for every guy in that room and everybody was on the edge of their seat and everybody standing up was leaning forward. And it was very clear, when he left, what it means to be an Auburn Tiger and how much passion he has for this program.”

That passion is important at this time with the NCAA dead period shutting down in-person recruiting for the last 12 months. With the expectation that it will be lifted following May to allow kids to be on the Auburn campus from that point forward, Etheridge said it’s a big time for him and this staff to be able to showcase what the program and university is all about.

“Well that’s the one thing that we talk about as a staff,” the former Auburn safety said. “I mean, the biggest thing is hoping we do have the opportunity to get this thing open so we can get people on campus. Everything about the Plains is just very special. I mean, when you get here you actually have to feel it. So when guys get on campus they can feel that family atmosphere.

“The things we’re talking to them on Zoom about, it’s hard to express that through Zoom until you actually get here in Auburn and you feel the people. And not only just the people around the building but the community. That’s the most important thing, is when these families come down here they can truly feel what we’re selling on Zoom. So it’s been very special to tell them about it but they have to get down here to experience it to make sure they can see exactly what we’ve been telling them.”

Zac Etheridge is excited to be back at Auburn. (Photo: Jason Caldwell/Inside The Auburn Tigers, 247Sports) 10COMMENTS

What exactly Etheridge tells kids is something he believes, because he’s lived it. Recruited to Auburn out of Charles Henderson in Troy, he became a key part of a national championship in 2010 and is back as an assistant for the Tigers. Continuing to grow and mature as a coach, he said it all comes back to his time on the Plains.

“It’s very special,” Etheridge said of being able to recruit as a coach at Auburn. “To me, it’s not really selling. I’ve been able to experience it. I’ve lived it. I’ve walked through these halls and been in their shoes before. So me sharing that experience is honestly personal. And just being able to show those guys and tell those guys, man, this is a place that you want to be.
“This place is special. It’s been special to me since the day I walked in here as a 17-year-old, 18-year-old kid. And it’s still special. That’s one of the reasons I’m here today, is because of how special this place is.”