SEC MEDIA DAYS AUBURN

Tigers: Anything possible with Gus

Auburn offensive coordinator and former Springdale High School head coach Gus Malzahn (right) is expected to be named the head coach at Arkansas State on Wednesday afternoon. Sources confirmed he will be hired to replace Hugh Freeze, who left to take the same post at Ole Miss.
Auburn offensive coordinator and former Springdale High School head coach Gus Malzahn (right) is expected to be named the head coach at Arkansas State on Wednesday afternoon. Sources confirmed he will be hired to replace Hugh Freeze, who left to take the same post at Ole Miss.

— Two teams failed to receive a first-place vote to win their division among 167 ballots cast at SEC media days.

No surprise about Vanderbilt. The Commodores have losing records in 32 of the past 34 seasons and have never won an SEC championship.

But Auburn? The defending national and SEC champion didn’t get one vote to even win the West?

At least the Tigers weren’t picked last in the division. They were fifth, ahead of Ole Miss.

“We just take it as fuel,” Auburn junior wide receiver Emory Blake said. “We use it to motivate us and keep us going.

“It’s a reminder that people are doubting us out there, and we need to do something to prove them wrong. So we just keep grinding and keep working every day.”

The Tigers are moving forward after losing 16 starters from a 14-0 team, including Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton and four offensive linemen.

But Blake sees no reason for the offense to slow down.

“Two years ago when Chris Todd was here, we still put up points and were one of the leading offenses in the SEC,” Blake said. “I don’t see why anything would change.”

Led by Newton, Auburn averaged 41.2 points per game last season. The Tigers also averaged 41.2 points in 2009 with Todd at quarterback - and Gus Malzahn in his first season as offensive coordinator - after averaging 17.3 points the previous year.

“You can look at anywhere that Coach Malzahn has been,and his offenses have been successful and put up a lot of yards and points,” Auburn junior tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen said. “So we expect every year for us to be a top-10 offense in the country.”

Malzahn, a Fort Smith native and former Arkansas high school coach who also has been a college coordinator at Arkansas and Tulsa, is back at Auburn for a third season after winning the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach last year.

“He’s probably the hottest assistant coach in college football right now, and people are gunning for him,” Lutzenkirchen said. “It’s just a tribute to the kind of place Auburn is for him to come back here.” Auburn more than doubled Malzahn’s salary after last season, with a raise from $500,000 per year to $1.3 million.

“It was extremely important for me to keep Gus,” said Auburn Coach Gene Chizik, who also got a raise after last season from $2.2 million per year to $3.5 million. “Gus and I have an outstanding relationship.

“We’re very similar in the way we think in concepts football wise, and he’s a great person on and off the field.

“Obviously, he’s one of the best in the country at his trade. I think we all know that.”

Blake said an offense coordinated by Malzahn always will produce big numbers, regardless of personnel changes.

“His attention to detail is really impressive,” Blake said. “I mean, if I run a route and it’s literally half a foot too short, he’s going to correct it. He’s going to say, ‘You have to run it over again, because it wasn’t 10 yards.’

“He won’t let any little thing slide, and that’s what makes him such a great coach.”

Auburn hasn’t named a starting quarterback after redshirt junior Barrett Trotter and redshirt sophomore Clint Moseley competed for the job in the spring. Trotter completed 6 of 9 passes for 64 yards last season, while Moseley played in one game and didn’t attempt a pass.

True freshman quarterback Kiehl Frazier, from Shiloh Christian in Springdale, will join the mix in August. Chizik said Frazier, like any newcomer, will have the chance to start based on how he practices.

“Whichever one of those three quarterbacks gives us the best opportunity to win, that’s who’s going to be calling the shots on game day,” Chizik said.

Frazier has spent the summer in Auburn working out with his new teammates.

“He’s got a rocket for an arm, he’s athletic, he’s got a great build,” Lutzenkirchen said. “He looks like a miniature Cam Newton.

“We’ll see what he can do in the fall and see if he can hone up some of his fundamentals. If he does, the coaches are going to give him a shot for sure in the fall.”

Blake said Frazier has shown a strong arm - too strong at times.

“You’re like, ‘Man, take something off of it. It’s a slant route,’ ” Blake said. “He’s a very raw talent. He’s learning the offense right now, and we’ll see how he does when we put pads on and the bullets are flying.”

Whomever is Auburn’s starting quarterback should be helped by a strong running game featuring Michael Dyer, a sophomore from Little Rock who set the Tigers’ freshman rushing record with 1,093 yards last season. He was voted Offensive MVP of the BCS title game after gaining 143 yards on 22 carries against Oregon.

About the Tigers LAST YEAR 14-0, 8-0 (first in SEC West) RETURNING STARTERS Offense 3, defense 3, specialists 0 SURE THING Running back UNSURE THINGS Quarterback, offensive line OFFENSIVE MVP Tailback Michael Dyer DEFENSIVE MVP Cornerback T’Sharvan Bell SEC TITLE SCENARIO Repeating as SEC champs is unlikely for the Tigers with all the starters they lost, but they have recruited well and will rely on a lot of young players to develop quickly in new roles.

AUBURN SCHEDULE SEPT. 3 Utah State SEPT. 10 Mississippi State SEPT. 17 at Clemson SEPT. 24 Florida Atlantic OCT. 1 at South Carolina OCT. 8 at Arkansas OCT. 15 Florida OCT. 22 at LSU OCT. 29 Ole Miss NOV. 12 at Georgia NOV. 19 Samford NOV. 26 Alabama

Sports, Pages 32 on 07/24/2011

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