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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: AUBURN VS GEORGIANovember 26, 2017Gus MalzahnAtlanta, Georgia CHUCK DUNLAP: We'll switch over. I believe we have Coach Malzahn with us now. Thanks for being with us on a Sunday afternoon. Congratulations on capturing the West yesterday and advancing to Atlanta. GUS MALZAHN: Thank you. CHUCK DUNLAP: While we take questions, could you talk about just the season, what led to this point, and your team as you enter the turnaround in Atlanta next week. GUS MALZAHN: First of all, I'm extremely proud of our team to get to this point. We battled adversity at the first of the season and the middle of the season, and we won five in a row. Of course, last night was a big win for our team, beating Alabama and winning the SEC West at home then beating another No. 1 team. Real happy for our team. We've got to put that behind us now and move forward to the SEC Championship against a very, very talented Georgia team and one of the top teams in the country. The challenge of playing them for the second time in four weeks. Q. I guess could you address playing a team for the second time in a four-week period. How do you evaluate looking at that game tape, and how do you evaluate the matchups you should watch? GUS MALZAHN: You know, thinking back to 2010, when I was the coordinator, we played South Carolina twice that year. The unique thing about this is it's a four-week turnaround. It's been very recent. That makes it a little more unique and challenging. Q. What is it about film preparation that you can do? Do you try to not overanalyze that? How do you go about that? GUS MALZAHN: I think you try to analyze everything, not just the last game you played them, but you've got to analyze the whole year and the last two games in between the time we played. Q. Gus, is there -- I guess from an intangible standpoint, the fact that there's a revenge factor on their side, the fact that Georgia had kind of a three-week jump as far as knowing when they had clinched the east compared to you guys clinching the West, as far as their fans gobbling up tickets, are there a couple of concerns from the intangible standpoint, or is that too overblown as far as revenge factor and the fact that they could have a crowd? GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, of course they're going to have a crowd. There's no doubt as far as that goes. This being for the SEC Championship, it's as big as it gets, no matter revenge or not and all that. We're expecting their best. You're talking about one of the more talented teams in all of college football and very talented on both sides of the football. I think they've got excellent staff, and their head coach has won a lot of games. Q. And then as far as No. 4 for Georgia, Mecole Hardman, I think he had 140-something yards in kickoff returns, 40-something yards in punt returns. How important is it to kind of scheme for him and maybe try to stay away from him given what he's been able to do lately? GUS MALZAHN: He's a weapon, there's no doubt. He's electric. He's got that ability. We didn't do a very good job containing him last time. Q. Wanted to see if there's an update with Kerryon Johnson's status with his shoulder. GUS MALZAHN: I'm not for sure if he's going to be able to practice tonight or not. We'll see. I think we'll check on him daily and see what his status is. Right now it's really hard to say. Q. Just for clarity on the timing of when it happened, Gus, because on the play itself when he went down, was it injured before the touchdown run in the third and then it got like aggravated? It looked like somebody may have tugged on his arm on the play that he went down on. Do you know exactly what happened? GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, I think so. I think it was a culmination. Q. Got you. Going back to the kickoffs you were just addressing where it was an issue against Georgia, you had another long return allowed last night. Is this becoming a point of frustration where you've addressed it, you thought you were making progress, and yet there seems to be a long return almost in each game now? GUS MALZAHN: Yes, that was one of the more negative things that happened last night, when we kicked it to the right and it was kind of a line drive and they bounced it back and all that. We've got to solve that, and we've been talking about it a couple weeks now. Q. Gus, one of the videos that surfaced after last night's game was you pointed to the final five games of the season and how you guys were able to turn it around and get to the point you are now. What do you feel like was key to you guys being able to circle the wagons, if you will? GUS MALZAHN: I really think it's our leadership. I think it's our leadership for our team because, I mean, we were in a real tough spot after that LSU loss and the challenge of having to win five in a row against the teams that we played to get to this point. They just rolled up their sleeves. They didn't let the distractions bother them. We stayed pretty insulated and isolated and just took it one game at a time and started playing really good football. Q. And the followup on that, just how much has Jarrett meant to you guys this year? GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, he's been a big shot in the arm, there's no doubt with that. You've seen a guy that's really gotten better each game before our eyes, and of course, last night he was very good running the football and really got some key first downs running. He was diving forward and just showing a lot of courage. Q. Coach, I understand that Kerryon Johnson had a jump pass ala Tim Tebow for a touchdown. Is that something he ad-libbed or was it just kind of in the playbook that way? GUS MALZAHN: That's something that Coach Lindsey had put in way back when, and they just kind of keep it ready, and it just happened to be the right moment, and they executed it. Q. Coach, I know these are hardly reflective circumstances, but I understand you and Kirby were actually up for this Auburn job at the same time. Are you familiar with -- do you remember that, when that was going on? I'm assuming you two guys kind of go back a good ways. You've faced off so many times over the years. Do you know when it all started for you two? GUS MALZAHN: Well, first of all, I've got a lot of respect for Kirby all the way back when he was a coordinator at Alabama, the job he'd done. He's an excellent coach. He's excellent at adjusting, and we went head to head numerous times. I'm not for sure about all the job stuff and all that. I just know that this is a job that I really wanted and I was real happy to get. Q. Hey, guys, obviously with Kerryon's injury, if he's not able to practice, how do you kind of split reps with the other running backs? Who among that group do you believe you can count on to run the ball effectively but also protect the football in a big game like this in the SEC Championship? GUS MALZAHN: Of course, Kam Martin, Malik Miller, and Devan Barrett, those are our guys who have gotten the reps. We've got a lot of confidence in all three of those guys. We'll see later in the week where we're at with everything, but we have confidence in all three of those guys. Q. Is Kerryon the type of guy that he's going to try to push it as much as he can to get out on the field no matter what? GUS MALZAHN: I think probably everybody in the country has seen the courage he showed the last five -- really ever since he came back from his hamstring injury -- his toughness, his courage, and everything that goes with it. So I know that physically, if he can, he will. But I'm just -- we're not ready to say that yet. We'll just have to wait later in the week on where he's at. Q. Hey, guys, got a question about Kam Pettway. It sounds like, when he initially got injured, you said it would take about this long for him to come back. Is he going to be available for this game? GUS MALZAHN: No, he's not going to be available. He's still out. It was a fracture, so he'll still be out. Q. And just as a follow on that, totally different direction, tell me what you like about the way Marquel Harrell is playing right now and the different things he's doing there at left guard. GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, he brings a lot of athleticism to that position and plays with an edge. He's been playing very good football since he's been inserted in the starting lineup. Q. Early on, you talked about the short passing game kind of an extension of the running game. How important has that been with Jarrett, especially with Ryan Davis, being able to control the ball and not necessarily have to run it every play? GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, it's been great. The fact that the short passing game with the perimeter bubbles in spots and his little crossing routes and everything that goes with it, you know, to get first downs and keep possession of the balls has really been huge, especially the last five weeks. Q. And then Ryan Davis, how much have you seen him grow and really, from a confidence standpoint, take his game to another level? GUS MALZAHN: He's really coming into his own right now, and he's wanting the ball. I know Jarrett's got a real comfort with him, and he's desperate to get open. He's very quick. Q. Gus, I know you guys obviously had a dominating performance in the first game with Georgia. How would you evaluate how your defense did, in particular, keeping Jake Fromm from being on top of his game? GUS MALZAHN: In that particular game, our defense played one of its best games because how talented Georgia is, and those running backs are just unbelievable. Of course, their quarterback has been very efficient too. So we played one of our best games. We're going to have to do it again. Q. How much do you think the venue plays into this rematch in terms of at Mercedes Benz versus Auburn? GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, I know there's going to be a whole lot of Georgia fans there, especially the fact they've had a little more time to know that they were playing in the game and getting tickets, and we know it will be loud. That's a great venue. The SEC Championship game is as good as it gets. Q. Gus, there's a report out there that -- GUS MALZAHN: I can barely hear you. Q. There's a report that Chip Lindsey might be in the mix for the South Alabama head coaching job. Can you talk to me just basically, in the year that you've been with him, about whether or not he's ready to be a head coach and what that conversation would be like and what it's like for you for your assistant to elevate himself. GUS MALZAHN: Of course, Chip has done an unbelievable job. I think everybody is seeing that with the balance he's brought. He called an excellent game yesterday. Chip's going to be a head coach at this level, there's no doubt. But I know he likes it here. We've got unfinished business. I expect him to be around here a while. But he will be a head coach. He's going to be a big time one. Q. Hey, guys. It seemed like this team, maybe it started with the Georgia game, maybe it started before this, has played with a swagger to it, and I mean that in a good way. When did you -- do you think that's accurate? When did you start to see that kind of attitude? GUS MALZAHN: Yeah, I'll tell you, we played very good against Arkansas. We had a lot of positive energy. Probably at Texas A&M, that's when it really started catching steam. Guys just having fun, having fun playing football. I think that's been a big part of it. Q. Talking about the rematches, you cited the 2010, facing South Carolina twice. You also did it in Tulsa against Central Florida and coming up short both of those. Just what have you learned -- what are you able to learn and apply from both experiences, both ways, just preparing again? I know it's a much shorter time window this time for a rematch, but just what can you learn from both of those past experiences to apply to this week? GUS MALZAHN: I think you're right, James. Any time you have experience, it helps. And the unique thing about this is, like you said, the timeline, just being four weeks removed, you know, as far as that goes. But I think any time you have experience with something, it helps. Q. And on a separate topic, I spoke with Jay Jacobs last night, and he had said that he'd spoken with you last week and said you were perfectly happy at Auburn and want to stay there. Are you committed to staying at Auburn for the 2018 season? GUS MALZAHN: I'm perfectly happy being at Auburn. Like I said to James last night, we're playing for the SEC Championship, and I'm excited to be the head coach here. CHUCK DUNLAP: I think that's going to wrap you up, Coach. Appreciate your time today and look forward to seeing you in Atlanta on Friday. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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