Rick Neuheisel on what Gus Malzahn can do to jumpstart Auburn’s struggling offense
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Rick Neuheisel believes Gus Malzahn needs to get back to what has worked best for his Auburn teams in the past.
In a story published by AL.com on Thursday, the CBS analyst offered an answer for the No. 21 Tigers’ offensive struggles through the first half of the season. In Neuheisel’s mind, that means a return to the quarterback runs that propelled Auburn to national championship games in 2010 and 2013.
“Get back to your zone read stuff,” Neuheisel told Al.com. “Jarrett Stidham is plenty good enough as an athlete with the ball to run for some yards. Get some quarterback runs involved. Gus Malzahn’s playbook may have some dust on it, but you can undust it. You can run stuff that Cam Newton ran and won a national championship. You’re going to run some stuff that saw Nick Marshall play for a national title. And, you add his obvious talent as a passer and you’re going to get back to being in great shape.”
Stidham hasn’t been used much as a rusher this season, averaging about six attempts per game. He has -17 rushing yards this season, though that’s a misleading total because the NCAA factors sacks into rushing yards.
Either way, Stidham’s usage as a runner isn’t that different than last year, when rushed 103 times for 153 yards and four touchdowns. The junior signal-caller has received plenty enough criticism for his lackluster passing numbers, especially in losses to LSU and at Mississippi State.
Will Malzahn begin using Stidham’s legs more? It certainly couldn’t hurt Auburn at this point.
Marcus covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
