Malzahn sees excitement 'internally' for fifth Auburn team

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn yells at an official during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Georgia Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn yells at an official during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Georgia Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Recent Auburn football seasons have not gone hand-in-hand with expectations, but fifth-year Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn is not shying away from the latest dose of hype.

The Tigers are coming off a trip to the Sugar Bowl and have 15 returning starters, two more than any other program in the Southeastern Conference's Western Division.

"What's outside we can't control," Malzahn said this past week, "but I will tell you that internally there is a lot of excitement, and really, that's what matters. I know our offensive players are excited. Our quarterbacks are, and I am, too.

"I am really looking forward to this year."

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HARD TO PREDICTThe Auburn Tigers have finished football seasons in a very different place from where they’ve started under head coach Gus Malzahn:SEASON AUGUST AP FINAL RANK 2013 Unranked National runners-up2014 6th Outback Bowl2015 6th Birmingham Bowl2016 Unranked Sugar Bowl

Auburn is ranked No. 10 in ESPN's preseason poll that was updated after spring practice and is No. 11 in the Sporting News preseason poll, but the Tigers have been anything but easy to project under Malzahn. Auburn plummeted from No. 6 in the 2015 Associated Press preseason poll to a 7-6 record and the Birmingham Bowl, and last year's team was unranked at the beginning of the season but ascended to No. 9 before ending up in New Orleans.

It would be maddening for Malzahn, who has compiled a 35-18 record through four seasons, to read the multitude of varying opinions about him. CBS last week rated Malzahn as the second-best coach in the SEC, albeit a distant second behind Alabama's Nick Saban, while Fox placed Malzahn at the top of its national "hot seat" watch.

Tennessee's Butch Jones and UCLA's Jim Mora ranked second and third on that list.

Auburn returns quarterback Sean White, running backs Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson and a developing receiver corps that could be among the league's best, but the new faces are the ones providing intrigue. Quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who starred as a freshman at Baylor University in 2015 before sitting out last season in junior college, delighted the A-Day crowd in April by completing 16 of 20 passes for 267 yards in the first half alone.

What must Stidham do in the weeks and months ahead?

"First of all, he's got to win the job," Malzahn said, "and he's trying to do that. We've got good competition. So far I've been pleased with his attitude and leadership and work ethic."

Auburn's offense flourished last October in resounding wins over Mississippi State (38-14), Arkansas (56-3) and Ole Miss (40-29), but the Tigers struggled down the stretch after Pettway pulled his hamstring in an early November win over Vanderbilt. Pettway rushed for 1,224 yards and 5.9 yards per carry last season despite missing four full games, and whether the Tigers remain a run-first offense or lead with a flourishing aerial attack will be determined by new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey.

Lindsey was an offensive analyst on Auburn's 2013 team that won the SEC and nearly knocked off Florida State in the final BCS title game, and he since has been the offensive coordinator at Southern Miss (2014-15) and Arizona State (2016).

"Chip did a wonderful job this spring, and our players did a good job of responding to him," Malzahn said. "They got a really good feel for him and what we're doing moving forward. Our goal was to be more balanced, and we did that."

So Malzahn won't concern himself with the whirlwind of opinions out there, even the ones that believe Auburn will be Alabama's chief challenger. He expressed excitement about this team before the start of spring practice, and the ensuing 15 workouts didn't do anything to temper the anticipation.

"We met the goals that we set," he said. "We were very physical, and we stayed healthy."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6524.

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