Everything Coach Harsin said on eve of 1st fall camp

[aubiefifty 18,231]

Everything Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said on eve of 1st fall camp

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

24-30 minutes

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Auburn players reported to campus Thursday for the start of fall camp, with practices set to begin Friday.

Head coach Bryan Harsin met with the media via Zoom on Thursday afternoon to preview his first season on the Plains and what to expect from his team over the next month as the Tigers prepare for their season opener Sept. 4 against Akron. Here’s a look at everything Auburn’s new coach had to say on the eve of the team’s first practice.

BRYAN HARSIN, Auburn head coach

Opening statement…

“Alright, well first thing, we’re back. It’s good to see some faces around the building now. Our guys had a few days off, which was good, well-earned and deserved from the summer workouts. Proud of our strength staff. They did a tremendous job this summer with the team and just having them prepared and ready each and every week. And we got a chance to get back with those guys in July as a staff. It was good to see the progress they made, so we’re looking forward to seeing that once we get into practices. Team meeting tonight to get everybody back together and set the stage for tomorrow. We get to go out there and get the helmets on and get ourselves ready through these 25 practices that we get and start preparing for the season.

“So, everybody here, it’s a good vibe. We’re all looking forward just to get back out there on the field and getting back to practicing and preparing for the season. That’s been the focus. So with that, I’ll open it up for questions.”

On the importance of competition throughout the roster, especially with a new staff…

“Well, especially now -- and, you know, there’s not a 3-4 year history that we’ve had with the players on this team. I think every year, you get spring practice, you get an idea of where your team’s at and you get to give them two or three things to work on going into the summer. So they get a little break, and they go into the summertime. They’re going to be working on those things. They’re focused on new goals and expectations that they have for themselves going into that next season.

“Then they get the entire summer to work out, train, to go through about 17 or 18 practices that they run, and then we get them back in fall camp. So there’s just so much growth and development that happens from when spring ends to when you start fall camp. So, we get guys out there, you’ve got to let guys compete. There would be nothing more frustrating, in my opinion, to know that you have no shot coming into fall to go compete for a position.

“Every guy here wants to play. Every guy on this team wants to be on the field. Every guy wants to contribute. So they’re going to get their opportunities to do that. They’ve got to make it count, and then eventually the guys that do better, they’re going to get more opportunities, and the guys who don’t, they’re going to get less. You start working your team into your two deep, and then eventually you’re going to figure out who’s on scout team, what that’s going to look like going into the first game. I think you’ve got to give guys an opportunity to go out there and compete. If anything, you create that competition in that room. I think it brings out the best in all the players, and at the same time, as a coach, you want to have depth. And competition creates that, so now if something happens or if a guy deserves to play, you try to find a role for him on the team so that he can contribute.

“And to me, that’s the fun part of having the chance to compete. Ultimately, at the end of fall camp, you have a deadline: Sept. 4. We’re playing Akron, and we get to go compete against Akron. So you want to be building that within your team so when it’s time to go out there and play we all understand what that means. We get the best players on the field, the guys who have earned it and deserve it, and that’s really how things should be, right? You earn it, get your opportunities, and if you’re the best then you’re going to have the chance to go out there and play and be on the field when it’s gameday.”

Being the coach at Auburn and having coached at Texas, what are your thoughts on Oklahoma, Texas joining the SEC?...

“When are they coming to the league? 2025, right? OK. Well, I’ll give you my opinion, but right now not my biggest concern, alright, with Texas and Oklahoma. But I did see that. That is big news. You know, that’s something that I think says a lot about the SEC. It’s really what it does, and -- you’ve got two really good programs that have done well for themselves.

“I was at Texas, so I got a chance to experience that and that brand, and then obviously had the chance to play Oklahoma and watching them over the years. I think it says a lot about the conference. I don’t know all the details of it, but we’re going to welcome them in and we’ll certainly be seeing them like we have already on the recruiting trail and things like that. When it’s time go out there and compete against them,

“I think it’s going to make the conference -- the SEC conference -- better. Being a part of it right now and knowing that change was going to happen at some point -- and I think we all felt that way -- this is a part of it. Where it leads from here, who knows. I’ll let -- that’s for Greg and everybody else making those decisions. But when it’s time, it’ll be great.”

On physicality in practices…

“Yeah, well early on we scrimmage practice eight and so really everything leading up to that is good-on-good. And the physicality, you want to have that in every practice. And as a coach, you’ve got to balance it, you’ve got to put your players out there where they can practice the techniques, they can do it properly, they can get better at it and there is that component of being physical in there. There are new rules that the NCAA has come out and said that these drills no longer exist, there’s new rules for helmets — how many helmet practices we’re having so we’re able to adjust to that this camp. I think for a lot of us, I know I’ve done it in the past probably a lot more likeable than the NCAA suggested so that’s not too far off from what I’ve done. At the same time, okay, every practice you’re maximizing.

“This is a physical game and I think a big part of this game is toughness. And so how you create that, how you practice that and how you do it in a way where, you know, your guys are able to get to the games and still be fresh and ready to play. So, that’s really about your team. I think a lot of it goes back to your conditioning in the summer. Where’s your team at? How conditioned are they? How fast can they practice? How focused are we at practice? I think when you have a team that’s extremely focused at practice, you’re working the techniques, that physicality component will be there but you know it’s there because you know they’re practicing properly. And if not, you’re gonna have to get out there and work on some of those things live a little bit more.

“So, that’s going to be really for us to decide where are we at and how much of this do we need? Every camp, it’s not cookie cutter. You have your plan but you’ve got to be able to adjust with your team and really it comes back to how your players focus and practice every day.”

On who will be competing at left tackle and right tackle in fall camp…

“Yeah, I’ll be watching them. Who that is right now, I don’t know. I mean I know who it is, but we’re going to have a lot of guys on the O-line cross training, let me just say that. Playing some guard, playing some tackle and letting those guys all compete. As we get out there Troxell will be out there, Brenden Coffey will be out there, Brandon Council will be out there, we’re going to have guys that have played at those positions that will be starting or called maybe a pecking order for practice and then we’re going to move guys around.

“That’s a big part of what we feel like on the o-line to develop them. Get guys in those positions and not so much solidified at that early, let them compete, let them move around a little bit and decide who those five guys are going to be because you want to get your best five on the field eventually.”

On rotating defensive backs given all the new transfer additions and the returning pieces…

“Yeah, I don’t know, I hope so. I hope there’s the opportunity to do so, let me say that. And that means again that we’ve got really good players, we’re able to create competitions throughout camp, they’re all deserving to play and those guys are gonna have their role on defense, that particular, those positions have roles on special teams which is huge, that’ll make a difference in the game. We’ve got to see some of these new guys that have come in as well and where are they at? Get a chance to get on the field with them, get a chance to work with them. What is their retention from practice-to-practice? That’s one thing that really stands out and that’s an important factor because as we get into spring practice, you’re able to control that — you can speed it up and slow it down based off your team.

“In fall camp, early on, you have a chance to do that and then that deadline is coming so things start to pick up very quickly. And then game week is (snap, snap, snap), there’s no going back. You’ve got to be able to continue to keep moving forward. I think a big part for everybody when you have that competition and those type of players is alright, who can retain, who can execute, who can do it consistently throughout that practice and then the next day repeat it and be able to come back and do it again.

“That remains to be seen. We got a chance to see some of those returners in spring, with some of the new guys in there, as well, that have played and have experience. We get to see those guys in camp.”

On the status of Georgia wide receiver transfer Demetris Robertson…

“Yeah, so, they have. In his situation, he will. He’s right there. No, he’s not going to be here today but he’s very close, I’ll just say that. Bo is exactly right on that, finishing up a few things. Just from an academic standpoint, making sure we have everything all buttoned up and good to go once he gets here. We anticipate that to be very soon, hopefully tomorrow, and have him out there for practice. If not, the next couple days. But he’s close, he’s been working hard, he’s staying on top of it. I appreciate that about him. It’s very important to him. He’s an older player, he’s mature. So those things -- we all feel very good. But like everybody, we just want to get him here and get him started as fast as possible. We’re hoping that tomorrow we’ll get a chance to do that.

On running back depth behind Tank Bigsby and Shaun Shivers…

“Yeah, Jarquez, Jordon Ingram, those guys that are here right now -- Jarquez has had a really good summer. He’s obviously experienced when it comes to being out there at practice. We know that he’s a young guy but he’s very strong, tough, works extremely hard. He’s got all the qualities that you want in a player, alright? And certainly at that position. But Tank and Shaun, both those guys, I thought they excelled this summer. I thought both those guys as leaders on the team really stepped up. This is important to them. It’s good to see two good players really working with each other, as well -- they both know they’re going to play, they both know that they’re going to have impacts on this team.

“And then yeah, you’ve got to get somebody like Jordon, Jarquez, some of the other guys in that running back room that are going to need to step up. You want to have all your guys there, but especially at that position, you want to have depth. You want to have guys that can get in there -- even if it’s a specialty role, one or two plays and this is what they do, that still makes a huge difference in the offense. And we’ll see; we’ll see with the new guys what they’re capable of learning and retaining -- and what they can handle through camp. But from what I’ve seen physically, those guys had a really good summer. They’re capable of doing it; now we’ve got to go out there and apply it to the field.

On relationship and collaboration of offense with offensive coordinator Mike Bobo…

“Yeah, a lot of really good conversations just about philosophies. He and I both, we’ve done this for a while. We both have things we really like. They’re very similar. It’s not so much about the plays; I think we can all decide hey, this is a good play. This is what is going to work against a lot of different defenses. It’s how do you teach it? What’s the progression that you’re teaching that particular play? What are the details of it? To me, that’s not just Bobo and I, that’s the entire staff. Everybody’s in there; all of us are smarter than any one of us. You sit there and let people ask the questions: ‘Why’d you do it like this? Where did you learn this from? What about this? That takes time, but it also takes time for everybody in that room to get developing something new. And that’s exactly what we’re doing -- we’re developing something new. We’re taking a blend of things and putting it together to create the Auburn offense.

“And everybody knows that, so what does that look like? We’ve identified that. What does that look like to our players? We’ve identified that. Now how do we go out there and teach this? We’ve identified that. But that’s really the part where you sit in the rooms and go through film and talk about if it’s going to be depth or steps or whatever it might be for the wide receivers. Coach Williams is in there, sitting there asking the same questions of how we’re going to do this.

“To me, that’s the fun part. That’s the part of getting people that have done something a certain way together _ and then everybody just sitting there and saying what they think and then go back and take all those ideas and come together and have one direction. Go in those meetings and teach it that way. Mike’s done this. He’s been good to work with. Derek’s been the same way.

“To me that’s the enjoyable part and having a new staff, is just being able to do some things that even some of us didn’t do in the past. You kind of get set in certain things that you do when you’re at a place for a while and you’ve always wanted to do. Well, this gives us a chance to be able to put some new stuff out there that we haven’t done, use some different ideas that we’ve wanted to do and create that our own way and put it out there in practice and see what it looks like.

On how different things have been compared to his expectations, how he avoids distractions, and where Auburn stands with its team vaccination rate…

“I’ve been around really good coaches and have worked for really good coaches in the past. So I’ve had a chance to see really in my opinion great leadership and have a chance to be a part of that. I’ve been different places, not as much as some coaches have. But I’ve been in different places and I’ve had a chance to experience some different cultures and environments and all that.

“I came into this really with an open mind and with a thought process of putting together a staff that could help us achieve a goal that we have for ourself, win a championship. Being around great people and being in a community like Auburn, which that’s been the biggest surprise in a good way. Just the people there. And I say that because, and I’ve mentioned this before, the families and certainly my family, how we feel about living here. I’ve appreciated that. So that means a lot to me, more than anything.

“As far as the environment here in the football facility, we’re creating that. It’s our environment, so we’re creating it every day. This is what we’re doing. And the people that came here to be a part of this program know that we have a direction, a plan and a process that we’re going to use to get all that done.

“The distractions -- it’s every day. I think that’s the key. It’s not just for me, it’s for you, it’s for all of us. We all have distractions. What’s the focus? What is that mind-set that you’re trying to create every single day for yourself when you walk in to do your job and do it to the best of your ability. That’s really up to you. And what are the resources that you’re using to help you stay focused on that every single day? Well, the resources are you people. You’ve got people around you. You have people around you, hopefully, you’re in an enviroment that they help  you with that. They’re not causing more distractions.

“You’re able to jump into good books. You’re able to sit back and really just decide these are the important things for you that keep you focused on what you want to accomplish. You know, that’s one thing as I’ve done this and been around really good people, really honing in on what are the most important things.

“And that takes a lot of time and a lot of work. It takes (went out on me) to stay focused on the things that matter the most. And that’s what I try to do. If anything, just stay aware and when you get off that path, just be aware of it and be able to get right back on.

“As far as the protocols and those different things, obviously we’re going to be doing things through camp and probably into the season with masks and some other things that we’ve done in the past. We understand that. And complying. We’ll have to continue to make sure that we follow those guidelines that we have so that we can put ourselves in the best position each and every day to be successful. It’s that simple. We want to go out there and succeed, so we want to be able to do those things.

“We’ve improved in our area with this team, with the vaccinations and where we are right now. The education continues, and I said that before. That hasn’t changed. So, right now the goal is we get started and we’re going to be prepared for Sept. 4 and that we play and that we have a great experience, and that the guys that are here and the people that are part of this program have the chance to go out there and experience all the things that Auburn football provides: the Tiger Walk, the gameday environment, rolling the trees—all those things that come along with it. I fully expect it. I’m excited to be a part of it, and our team does as well.”

On taking advantage of the transfer portal and if any incoming transfers have caught his eye this summer…

“I would say all of them, not to single any one of them out because they’re new and they’ve done a really good job this summer. I think all of them, they all came here for a reason. We expect them to play; I’ve said that before, and so every single one of them has caught my eye in different ways. The one thing about all of them, too, is you’re coming here to be a part of this program, but you’re coming here to compete and play. That’s one of the things about the transfer portal that I think is very clear when guys leave, is there’s a reason. They want to play and want to be a part of maybe something different, whatever that is.

“I don’t think that’s anything that is going to be going away; that’s going to be something that everybody’s going to continue to use in the future, and I think the biggest key with the transfer portal is you’re going to find good players, you’re going to find really good people. You’re going to find those players that fill needs for you, that can come in and play, that are going to see opportunities in your program that are going to want to be there and want to be a part of that. There’s going to be guys, too, that know who you are and maybe chose somewhere else and realize that you were the best fit for them, and so they decide to join your program.

“But at the end of the day, I think we have to continue to keep educating these players on (the fact) there’s only so many available spots, and you just got to know if you make that decision that you’re going to leave somewhere, alright, know what you’re getting into. I know that’s something that we’ve talked about in our conference and just something that I think, as college football, we have to keep educating players on. When you make that decision, there’s still a lot of unknowns when you put yourself out there. The goal always is you bring your players in, you spend time developing them. It’s hard, it’s difficult, it’s grueling—all those other things, at times, and then it gets better because you get better and you learn how things really are and how to operate at a higher level.

“So, I think we always got to keep that in mind, and what I would say with players too, is keep that in mind because those difficult moments are making you better, in my opinion, and as you work through that, you’re going to be in a really good position and you’re going to be a better person, a better player for all those things. Not all the time is the answer to go somewhere else.

“So, I think as we do this more, I think the players will understand that and this thing will kind of level out a little bit, but it’s not going to go away. We’re going to keep using it. We’ll use it like every other team in the country will use it. Then it comes back to what are the needs? Who are you looking for? How do they fit? And who’s going to be best for your program? It’ll probably hurt a little bit in the high schools and the junior colleges if you’re kind of working through some of the players that are already in college, and I think that’s just something we all need to be aware of moving forward. I don’t know the impact of it; I just know those are some of the things that we discussed that we got to understand and know are going to be a part of college football moving forward.”

On what he wants to see from inexperienced group of wide receivers…

“Consistency, every day. Showing up every day. Preparing themselves every day. Coming out to practice every day. The wide receivers, for the most part, run more than anybody on the field. They’re also on special teams. They do a lot of work. They got to have their minds right when they step out there and just know that’s part of the position that they play. The details that they take from the meetings, the application on the field and then what they do in the evenings, especially in camp coming back and viewing that and studying it — that’s a position, you have to be a student of the game.

“So, when you watch really good wide receivers, I think one thing that stands out is they’re very consistent. They’re getting off the ball. They understand their adjustments. They get lined up properly. There’s not a lot of issues from really good wide receivers from that standpoint. I think the really, really good ones understand the game and those critical, critical moments in the game. It’s catching the ball and it’s in the two-minute drill and running it to the middle of the field. It’s getting out of bounds. It’s being able to put yourself in position based off coverage that’s going to give us an advantage because you understand and you paid attention in practice. You saw the looks that the defense was giving you and you picked up on a few queues that help you stay ahead of what the defense is doing so you can respond properly when the ball’s snapped.

“That goes for a lot of positions but that one in particular is extremely important for us and what we’re trying to accomplish in our offense. Those guys every day, they show up, they put in the work. And I meant what I said, we’ve got talented players in there. We’ve got to be consistent every single day. We’ve got to do it because we want to. I think that group’s got to create that identity so they’re that type of unit and those type of players that we know we need in this offense. They’re capable of doing it so to me, that’s the key. What I saw this summer, a lot of really good work and a lot of those things are happening now. I’m just looking forward to seeing that on the field when we go practice.”

On whether he has an updated vaccination number for the team, and whether Brandon Council will be limited coming off injury…

“No, I just know we’ve got better in the vaccination area and all that. Don’t have a number for you.

“As far as Council goes, he’s not limited out there at practice. I think we understand that he hasn’t had the amount of practice time that other guys have so he’s going to go. He’s going to be able to go out there and cut loose. We’re going to have to do a good job of allowing him to build into a few things that he hasn’t done in a while. Other than that, it’s really kinda based on how he feels and how he looks, how he responds after each practice. What his recovery time is. As far as he’s concerned, he’s ready to do. So we’ll just make sure of that. When all that is good, he’s going to be out there full speed just like everybody else.”

On Auburn’s linebackers and matching up against spread offenses…

“Yeah. Absolutely it is. And I’ve seen those guys play. I’ve obviously worked with them in the spring and this fall camp is going to be good to get back out there and have more experience with those guys at that position. Anytime guys have played and you can go back and review the film, and there’s a lot of coaching that happened from last season also. So, these guys are better players. They’ve learned. They’ve been in this league. They know what to expect. You’re right. The way the offenses are, they’re spreading it out, they’re going to try and get the ball on quick throws in space. When you’ve got guys that can close space and distance real quickly, and those guys can do that. you’re going to eliminate the run after catch. You’re also going to put yourself in position too, to make a play on the ball. Both those guys are able to do that.

“Now, it’s just a matter off getting them out there again, getting better at schemes that we’ve already installed in the spring. Stuff they worked on this summer. I know they’ve improved in those areas. And then letting them go out there, obviously that part of their game is huge with the teams that we’re going to face.”

[oracle79 3,569]

7 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

To me, that’s not just Bobo and I, that’s the entire staff. Everybody’s in there; all of us are smarter than any one of us.

 

7 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

To me that’s the enjoyable part and having a new staff, is just being able to do some things that even some of us didn’t do in the past. You kind of get set in certain things that you do when you’re at a place for a while and you’ve always wanted to do. Well, this gives us a chance to be able to put some new stuff out there that we haven’t done, use some different ideas that we’ve wanted to do and create that our own way and put it out there in practice and see what it looks like.

Hugely refreshing philosophy to say the least.