http://blog.al.com/press-register-sports/2009/05/gus_malzahn_preaches_balance_a.htmlGus Malzahn preaches balance at L'Arche dinner, says Auburn will run the ball this year
Posted by Mike Herndon, the Press-Register May 28, 2009 10:38 PM
Categories: Auburn Football
Associated Press
Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was in Mobile on Thursday to speak at the Wade Office Equipment L'Arche Football Preview. If new Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn wasn't sure what coaching football in this state would be like, he got an idea pretty quick at the 15th annual Wade Office Equipment L'Arche Football Preview on Thursday in Mobile.
"A year ago, we were all here for this event and in that chair, right there, sat Tony Franklin," Press-Register columnist and talk-show host Paul Finebaum joked from the podium, gesturing down the dais toward Malzahn. "He didn't even get out of October. I know everybody's goal is to win a national championship. Your goal ought to be to make it to Halloween."
Malzahn assured the sell-out crowd of more than 700, however, that Auburn's offense and its coaching staff this year are far different than the 2008 version.
"I get asked this all the time, but we are all on the same page, I promise you," he said with a smile. "There must have been some kind of issue last year."
Malzahn was joined on the dais Thursday by Alabama defensive coordinator, former Cleveland Browns general manager Phil Savage, South Alabama head coach Joey Jones, ESPN.com senior writer Ivan Maisel, Finebaum and Press-Register sports editor Randy Kennedy.
Malzahn assured the crowd that despite his offense's wide-open nature, Auburn will run the football this fall.
"We actually last year at Tulsa ran the football more than anybody in the country but Air Force and Navy," Malzahn said of his teams at Tulsa. "That tells you that we're committed to running the football. In this league, you have to run the football."
With that said, however, he also acknowledged that the Tigers will throw it a lot, too.The key is tempo.
"We do concentrate on trying to throw the football vertically down the field," Malzahn said. "We are a no-huddle team. Our goal is to snap the ball within five seconds after the referee puts it down. If we do that, and we get first downs, we'll average 10 to 15 more plays than our opponents.
"Really it's about numbers. We're getting more plays than anybody else."
Malzahn added that he believes receivers coach Trooper Taylor will turn the TIgers' receiving corps into a team strength.
He's a great recruiter and a great coach and when you combine those, I'm telling you, he's the best receivers coach in America," Malzahn said of Taylor "I really believe that the days of our receivers being looked at as the weak link are over. ... The best thing about him is, he's got some of the best wide receivers in America interested in Auburn."