Auburn senior defender on Gus Malzahn: He’s a ‘different type of guy’ in 2019 camp
By Andrew Olson
Published:
If you believe the reports from late 2018, Auburn could have entered the 2019 season with a new head coach. That, obviously, did not turn out to be the case. One Tigers player, however, says the team is being coached by a “new” Gus Malzahn. Senior defensive lineman Marlon Davidson told reporters Sunday after practice that Malzahn is coaching with more intensity in 2019 fall camp than in years past.
“It’s magnified,” Davidson said. “He’s gotten after our butts the first three days. You can see a different type of guy, now that he’s calling the plays. He’s not as laid-back as he was. He’s now more take-charge. He’s done a good job, too.”
Malzahn is Auburn’s play-caller again after Chip Lindsey departed to link up with Les Miles at Kansas (Lindsey then left Kansas for the Troy head coaching gig). He hired another offensive coordinator, Kenny Dillingham, but chose to be the team’s play-caller instead of delegating to the offensive coordinator as he had at times in recent seasons.
Going back to calling the plays himself seems to have helped Malzahn get his mojo back. He notably embraced championship expectations at SEC Media Days saying the 2019 squad reminded him of the 2010 and 2013 teams. If the “new” Malzahn leads Auburn to success in 2019, it will be one of the more fun storylines in the SEC after the drama he and the program endured in late 2018.
You can watch Davidson’s full presser below, via AuburnSports.com:
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
