9/16/22 Auburn Articles

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Auburn OC looks for new ways to get QB Robby Ashford involved

Corey Long

1-2 minutes

Eric Kiesau wants to get more out of quarterback Robby Ashford.

The Auburn offensive coordinator says that Ashford has been effective as a running option, but now the coaches want to add more to his plate.

Ashford has made several explosive plays with his feet in wins against Mercer and San Jose State. Kiesau is happy with that element of his game.

“Robby gives you an element that really is what we call ‘un-gameplanned yards,'” Kiesau said, according to the Opelika Auburn News’ Adam Cole. “Like, you’re gameplanning that you don’t get those yards because he can pull the ball down and go, so I think it’s really important to use Robby in the right way.”

The next step for Kiesau is to see what Ashford can do in the passing game. So far the Auburn coaches haven’t asked much of him when it comes to throwing the football. Ashford is 5-of-10 for 101 yards and an interception through two games.

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Auburn's Schmedding says he 'feels strongly' about game plan for Penn State

Mark Murphy

4-5 minutes

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AUBURN, Alabama–After playing 60 minutes of football last season without producing a quarterback sack in a 28-20 loss to Penn State, Auburn’s  defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding will try to do something to change that statistic in Saturday’s rematch at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

On a night the Auburn defense was credited with just one quarterback hurry on Penn State's home turf, Sean Clifford completed 28-32 passes for 280 yards. Clifford still leads the Penn State offense and will arrive in Auburn as a sixth-year senior with a chance to move into second place in Nittany Lions history for passing yardage.

“I feel strongly about our game plan and the guys executing it,” Schmedding, who is in his first season as Auburn’s defensive coordinator after coaching linebackers in 2021, said Thursday night on Tiger Talk, Auburn's weekly call-in show. Our guys are hungry to get after the quarterback. I can promise you that."

Both Auburn and Penn State will bring 2-0 records into Saturday’s game that will be televised on CBS beginning at 2:30 p.m. CDT.

“You try to mix up your coverages, man and zone, but a lot of times at the top of the zone it turns into man," Schmedding said. "We believe we have a secondary that is on the rise. We are going to mix it up ... especially against at team that will turn on the tempo.”

The Tigers will go into the Penn State game with four quarterback sacks for 23 yards in losses this season to go with 11 quarterback hurries.

“I am very confident in our front,” Schmedding said. “There is no question on that. We have some really good players up front, but we always talk about this: You have to make them one-dimensional. We talk about stopping the run first to earn the right to pressure the quarterback. That is what we are trying to do.”

Commenting on the Penn State ground game that was held to 89 yards on 33 carries last year vs. Auburn, Schmedding said, “It is early in the season and things like that, but I think it is very similar.

“They do have a stable of backs and they do have some veterans on the offensive line. I think they do a great job and one thing I think is they are extremely well coached up front. It won’t be the biggest O-line we will see, although it is very good, but they are very well coached. They understand what they are doing and how to do it–how to pass things off on pass stunts.”

The Nittany Lions are averaging 166 rushing yards at 5.0 per carry this season and passing for 323 yards per contest. Schmedding pointed out that the linemen have played a major role in Penn State averaging 489 yards per contest.

Derick Hall (29) has one of Auburn's quarterback sacks this season after making nine in 2021. (Photo: Greg Williams, Inside the Auburn Tigers, 247Sports)

“I think when you look at a good offensive line they are like a machine,” he said. “What I consider a good offensive line is when they are playing together like one heartbeat moving. I do think they do that well. They stay on the same page.

“I think they communicate well pre-snap in the run game and the pass game. That is the challenge. When you get some guys when they are all working together on that front five, you have got to do a great job. You are not expecting them to make a lot of mistakes. You have to go take it from them.”

Auburn will try to take its third victory of the season with help from its fans. In last year’s game at Beaver Stadium the Nittany Lions benefitted from a crowd of just under 110,000 making plenty of noise for the home team.

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“We are expecting a great crowd on Saturday,” said Schmedding, who added that he believes Auburn has the “best atmosphere in college football. I think the players have challenged them to break the noise record and all of those things.”

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Highlights from Tiger Talk with Auburn’s coordinators and Tank Bigsby

Published: Sep. 15, 2022, 8:46 p.m.

4-5 minutes

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By

• Nubyjas Wilborn | nwilborn@al.com

Auburn Offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau, defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding, special teams coordinator Roc Bellantoni, and running back Tank Bigsby sat down with hosts Andy Burcham and Brad Law to preview Saturday’s game against Penn State.

The Nittany Lions are the first Big Ten team to visit Jordan-Hare. Last season Penn State defeated Auburn 28-20 at Beaver Stadium.

Schmedding, Kiesau, Bellantoni, and Bigsy took questions from Burcham, Law, and select fans at Baumhower’s sports bar about the upcoming matchup. Head coach Bryan Harsin typically sits with the hosts, but he attended his son’s football game at Auburn High.

Here are some highlights from the show.

-- Schmedding led off the show. He started with praise for defensive back coach Zac Etheridge’s work with the Tigers’ defensive backs.

-- Schmedding likes competing in the defensive back room with players like DJ James, Jaylin Simpson, Keionte Scott, and Nehemiah Pritchett.

-- A fan asked Schmedding about Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford having too much time to throw against Auburn last year and the plan to correct the issue

“I like front seven, and we feel strongly about our game plan and the guys who will execute it,” Schmedding said. “Our guys are anxious to get after the quarterback.”

-- Schmedding complimented linebacker Owen Pappoe for his work ethic and consistency. He also praised linebacker Cam Riley for how he’s developed his body.

-- Schmedding talked about attacking with tempo on defense, especially since the game is at home. F

“We have the best atmosphere in college football,” Schmedding said.

-- Kiesau followed Schmedding. He said the Nittany Lions are a talented defense with a great defensive line and a talented secondary.

-- Kiesau said that quarterback Robby Ashford adds to Auburn’s running game with Bigsby, Hunter, and freshman Damari Alston.

-- Kiesau said the offense wants to use the run game to set up the pass.

-- Kiesau complimented senior receiver Shedrick Jackson for his consistency.

-- Kiesau said that playing the afternoon doesn’t change the week of prep too much other than having to wake up earlier and get to the stadium.

-- Kiesau said that focus was the key word in his message to the team this week.

“We have to stay focused on what we’re doing,” Kiesau said. “The schemes are there and we have the players, but it’s how we execute the schemes. We have to establish the run and get the pass going. They’re an aggressive defense. I’m excited to see what happens this weekend.”

-- Bellantoni said he doesn’t coach the kickers differently from how he’d coach his edge rushers since he coaches both positions.

--Bellantoni says the defense needs to rush the passer, which makes life easier for the secondary.

-- Bigsby enjoys his relationship with running back coach Cadillac Williams.

“He’s a great guy on and off the field,” Bigsby said.

-- Bigsby said he’d do a Jordan-Hare leap if celebrations were allowed in college football.

-- “It was a great atmosphere up there,” Bigsby said about last season’s game at Beaver Stadium. “I still don’t think their fans are better than our fans. It’s all hype up there. I know that our fans are way better. I know our energy is going to be way better.”

-- “I need our fans to be as loud as they’ve ever been,” Bigsby said. It’s going to be a physical game. I feel like we’re a better team. We’ve got the better coaches. We have the better team. We going to come out on top and beat those guys.”

Nubyjas Wilborn

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Penn State-Auburn preview: 5 things to know about the Tigers

Andrew Destin

5-6 minutes

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For the third time in a full year, No. 22 Penn State (2-0) will face off against an SEC foe.

The Nittany Lions travel to Auburn (2-0) on Saturday afternoon for a 3:30 p.m. kick to complete their home-and-home series with the Tigers. Last year, in the two teams’ third meeting all-time, Penn State won 28-20 at Beaver Stadium in a White Out classic in which current sixth-year quarterback Sean Clifford completed 28-of-32 passes for 280 yards and a pair of scores.

Clifford will look to lead the Nittany Lions to their first victory on an SEC team’s campus since 1990, when Penn State beat Alabama 9-0. In anticipation of Saturday’s contest, here’s five things to know about Auburn:

Harsin’s hot seat

Second-year Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin has already found himself on the hot seat. After a disappointing first season in which the Tigers went 6-7 and lost in the Birmingham Bowl to the Houston Cougars, Harsin’s job security has been a topic of much discussion among those who follow Auburn’s program.

Harsin was a successful coach at Boise State, going 69-19 over seven seasons. But following the 2021 campaign, Harsin’s program was subject to a university investigation following the departures of players and assistant coaches.

Harsin discussed that investigation at SEC media days on July 21, 2022.

“There was an inquiry,” Harsin said. “It was uncomfortable. It was unfounded. It presented an opportunity for people to personally attack me, my family and also our program. And it didn’t work.”

Harsin’s overall record at Auburn currently sits at 8-7 two games into Year 2.

Tailback Tank

Junior Tank Bigsby is certainly Auburn’s lead option at running back and accounts for a good chunk of the Tigers’ offense. Bigsby had a stellar 2022 campaign, going for a tick under 1,100 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.

So far, Bigsby has picked up right where he left off, as he’s averaging 6.8 yards per carry and has three rushing touchdowns to his name. In the 2021 matchup between Penn State and Auburn, Bigsby had 102 yards and two touchdowns.

James Franklin recognizes that slowing down Bigsby and the rest of Auburn’s running game will be key to a Penn State victory.

“You look at their style of play, especially over the first two games of the year, we’re going to have to play well up front,” Franklin said. “There’s no doubt about that.”

In an Auburn offense that leans heavily on its run game, expect the Tigers to feed Bigsby early and often against Penn State.

Two or none?

Unlike last season, when Auburn utilized a veteran starter in current Oregon senior quarterback Bo Nix, it’s a two-gunslinger system for the Tigers. The pair of quarterbacks, redshirt freshman Robby Ashford and junior T.J. Finley, present very different styles of play.

Ashford is the more mobile of the two, as he’s Auburn’s second-leading rusher and is averaging around 10 yards per carry. Finley, meanwhile, is more resemblant of a traditional drop-back passer.

Though he’s completed over 64% of his passes, Finley has struggled with taking care of the football to start the 2022 campaign. Finley’s thrown three interceptions against one touchdown thus far.

Run-stuffers

Establishing the run has proven to be a difficult task for Auburn’s first two opponents. San Jose State and FCS’ Mercer combined for 128 rushing yards on 60 carries, good for 2.13 yards per carry.

Penn State, meanwhile, which demonstrated the ability to run the football for the first time in awhile in its win against Ohio last Saturday, is currently 66th in the country in rushing yards per game. Freshman Nicholas Singleton stood out by galloping 10 times for 179 yards and two scores, but the rest of Penn State’s rushing attack has been far from potent.

If you were to take out Singleton’s 210 yards, the Nittany Lions would be averaging 2.65 yards per carry as a team this season. For Penn State to come out of Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium with a win, taking the pressure off Clifford and churning out rushing yards will be paramount.

Juggernaut Johnson

For as dangerous and deserving of attention as Bigsby is at running back, fourth-year wide receiver Ja’Varrius Johnson is a significant threat in Auburn’s passing game that the Nittany Lions will have to keep tabs on. Johnson is the Tigers’ leading receiver by far, but he also returns punts for them.

The speedster has been held in check on special teams through two games, as his two returns have gone for just 11 yards. But as his 22.6 yards per catch indicate, Johnson is a legitimate vertical threat for Auburn who has the ability to go the distance every time he touches the football.

A matchup to watch for is if Penn Hills grad and fourth-year Penn State cornerback Daequan Hardy gets the assignment of sparring with the 5-foot-10, 160-pound Johnson in the slot.

Andrew Destin: adestin@post-gazette.com and Twitter @AndrewDestin1.

First Published September 16, 2022, 4:30am

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As Auburn Turns: Bryan Harsin's story enters key plot point vs. Penn State

Brandon Marcello

10-13 minutes

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AUBURN, Alabama — Penn State is coming to town and the Auburn campus is buzzing with activity. 

Construction on a long-awaited football facility costing $92 million continues to speed along on a 12-acre tract in the heart of campus, mere steps away from the Tigers’ outdoor practice fields. “The players want to get in it so bad they told me that they will stop practice and move [equipment],” says Auburn coach Bryan Harsin. 

In downtown, new multi-level buildings are being erected where old mainstay bars once stood. A beautiful $94.5 million culinary center, with a boutique hotel, opened earlier this summer in downtown.

The loveliest village in eastern Alabama is anything but quiet ahead of the biggest non-conference football game in several years. It’s impossible to not get caught up in the excitement but within that palpable fervor remain the hushed whispers about the uncertain future of the football program.  Auburn coach Bryan Harsin, however, has discovered a way to push all of that aside. For one, he refuses to discuss the largest elephant in the room — and we’re not talking about rival Alabama, the most successful football program in modern times. 

The topic of an offseason inquiry into his program is taboo and he refers to his stance shared at SEC Media Days in July when asked about the investigation before a sit-down interview with 247Sports earlier this week.

The second-year coach nearly lost his job in February when the University investigated his program for eight days following a mass exodus of players (19) and three coaches. Former players raised concerns about Harsin’s handling of the program, and the off-the-field drama was the perfect opportunity for unhappy, power-hungry boosters to go on the offensive in an effort to remove Harsin from his throne.

The rumors were wild and spread like wildfire on the Plains, and at the center of it all was Harsin’s family.

"It was uncomfortable. It was unfounded. It presented an opportunity for people to personally attack me, my family and also our program. And it didn't work,” Harsin said in July.

To understand Auburn is difficult. It’s perhaps the most magical place in the SEC and also the most frustrating. The college town is steeped in history and the people here are beyond hospitable and passionate about life. But like any small family, drama follows and yet somehow the Tigers have been incredibly successful, even when a member of the family turns their back to eat their own. 

Auburn has won two national championships and eight SEC titles, and the program has 12 undefeated seasons. In the shadow of Alabama’s incredible run under Nick Saban, Auburn has managed to still win one national championship and two SEC titles. Simply put, it’s remarkable.

Powering Auburn’s incredible run of success, however, is small-town gossip and overly-involved boosters, who feed off the drama. After all, why not lean into the chaos? This is the home of Jetgate, the Kick Six, the Prayer at Jordan-Hare, $21.5 million firings, Cam Newton and an endless supply of colorful superstars, including Charles Barkley, the most quotable and lovable sports analyst on television.  

As Auburn Turns is college athletics’ ultimate soap opera. The difference on this show from others is their crazy story is co-written by a fractured team of writers feverishly sending new pages to the actors, even as the cameras roll.

“We've gone through things that other people haven't, but at Auburn there is always gonna be drama wherever you turn,” says senior tight end John Samuel Shenker. “Even this week, everybody thinks we're wearing orange jerseys. There's always something.”

Harsin won’t say it, but the arrival of No. 22 Penn State to town this week (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS) is an opportunity to steer away from the uncertainty and criticism, and perhaps quiet the boosters who continue to search for ways to fire the head coach at the end of the season. A win changes the narrative, and it might also put Auburn back on the national map for the right reasons. “Put the country on notice,” says defensive end Derick Hall. 

This game is an opportunity to reverse course. The Tigers lost 28-20 at Penn State last season. Lessons were learned the hard way. 

“We really thought we could beat them really bad, but once we got into it we realized it was a dog fight,” Shenker said. “This is gonna be a really hard game.”

Auburn finished 6-7 last season. Highlights included victories against LSU and Arkansas, which Harsin points to as the closest the program has come to completely adopting his identity. The Tigers also led rival Alabama, the eventual SEC champion and national runner-up, in the fourth quarter but lost 24-22 in overtime.

“I think this team knows that we can be up there with the Alabama's, the Georgia's,” says Hall. “We can be there as long as we put in the work and we execute.”

The Auburn roster certainly seems much more cohesive in 2022, even if the production (68th nationally in scoring) isn’t quite impressive yet. The 2021 team had detractors and non-believers in the locker room, like any team that undergoes a massive change in leadership. “We kicked the cliques out and the little side conversations,” says quarterback TJ Finley. “We stuck to one main point and we all put our heads down and went to work.”

What Harsin needs is more time and less disruptions, players say. His process is built on a “1-0” mentality that led him to a 69-19 record at Boise State, where he led his alma mater to three Mountain West Championships and won the Fiesta Bowl in 2014. 

“What does that [1-0 process] mean?” says defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding. “Well, it doesn't mean every day is gonna be a win, but you got to stack as many of them as you can. I know a lot of that sounds like coach speak but at the end of the day it wouldn't be said over and over if it wasn't the truth.”

“As a team we are more disciplined than we were,” says Harsin. “And that's a good thing. I think we're a lot further along in our schemes and our development and the things that we want to be as a football team. And I think the accountability on this football team has improved.”

Consider Finley, the LSU transfer who was thrown on the field late last season as Bo Nix struggled and battled injury. Auburn started the season with a 6-2 record but finished on a five-game losing streak with Finley as the starter.

“I didn't think he was mature enough to handle that, especially the playbook,” Shenker says. “If you look back to games, he was just not reading his keys.”

Off the field, Finley’s mind wandered. “I lost a very special person in my heart last year and it really derailed me. I didn’t know how to deal with it.” Finley declined to provide specifics but admits he needed to step away from football to regroup — but it was impossible as a college student.

“I was in a dark spot and I wasn't mature enough,” he says. “I just wasn't mature enough to handle my business. I wasn't mature enough to make grown-man decisions that I had to make in order to get where I am now. Now that I'm here and mentally able to handle all of what's going on I think my talent starts to show, my command starts to show, my mannerisms start to show, my ownership starts to show. I do believe it's night and day and I take that personal because I've worked my ass off. My work ethic is only getting better, and I owe it to this team to give them my all.”

A victory against Penn State can change the mood about Auburn. It might also be an inflection point early in Harsin’s tenure. Recruiting has not yet taken off during his time on the Plains. Earlier this week, the Tigers lost a commitment from their top pledge 4-star wideout Karmello English, but rallied to add another 4-star wideout in Adam Hopkins on Wednesday. 

Even with the quick substitution of Hopkins for English, Auburn’s 2023 recruiting class ranks 62nd nationally (last in the SEC), according to the 247Sports Composite Team Recruiting Rankings. 

“When people come on campus, there's that feel to Auburn, and now as we go out there and get a chance to play and put our football team on display and go do some really positive things, I think that's going to build momentum,” Harsin says. “I think we're gonna get some players here that want to be a part of this, that will believe in what we're doing.  I see this place, when you get the right people to be a part of what we're doing, you keep building, we get everybody pulling in the same direction, this is a special place, and it can do really great things like it has done in the past, but it can do it consistently. I think it can be sustainable at a place like this.”

For as successful as Auburn has been on the national scene, consistency is fleeting. The program has won 10 games in back-to-back seasons only once in its history. That rollercoaster of success and failure is what powers the drama, the rumors and the overreactions among boosters and fans. 

Less than two years removed from winning a national title, Gene Chizik was fired in 2012 after the Tigers went winless in the SEC. Gus Malzahn was fired in November 2020, less than one year after defeating rival Alabama and after leading the program to top-10 rankings in all eight seasons as head coach.

That’s what Harsin wants to change, and it’s why he was hired by then-athletics director Allen Greene. He wanted a coach who could do something Auburn has never done: win big and win often, year after year after year.

Amid uncertainty and the expectation his contract would not be renewed, Greene resigned in August, which has only fueled more rumors about Harsin’s uncertain future. Even ESPN mistakenly referred to Harsin as Nebraska’s since-fired head coach in a segment on College GameDay while discussing the uneven ground the Auburn coach stands on this season. Harsin leaned into the honest mistake with a lighthearted shrug on Twitter.

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Harsin, however, continues to wear blinders. He has a vision. He has a process. He believes he can do what so many do not expect at a place like Auburn, the most fantastical place in the SEC.

“When you have the right people in your program, when you have people believing in what you're doing, and everybody's pushing the same direction, that's the key to achieving really lofty goals,” Harsin says. “We talk about national championships, we talk about SEC championships. That's talking about being the best of the best. And in order to do that, it really takes everybody being all in with that vision, that direction and what we're trying to accomplish.”

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Put up or shut up time

Edited September 16, 2022 by kennypowers