Gus Malzahn Quote Roundup: Arkansas State Week
By Brian Stultz
Taking a look at some quotes of note from Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn’s weekly press conference leading up to the Arkansas State game.
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn spoke to the media on Tuesday following the opening season loss against Clemson. The Tigers will take on Arkansas State this Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Here are some quotes of note from Malzahn’s time with the media.
On the defense’s performance
“Defensively, I thought our guys played outstanding. After watching the film they played even better than I thought. For the most part, we made Clemson earn it. The quarterback made some outstanding throws and the big receiver on the boundary made some unbelievable catches.”
On the offensive game plan
“Offensively, our plan going in was to be aggressive. Our plan going in was to play all three quarterbacks. We thought it would be successful and obviously it wasn’t. Moving forward, Sean White will be our starting quarterback and John Franklin will get the second team reps this week in practice.”
On play of offensive line
“We made some mistakes early, especially in the first half. We had a new center starting for the first time and we moved our center to left tackle. We also had a new starter at right tackle. Clemson did some things that are a little bit different than we thought, so there was a little bit of adjustment. The good thing is that they got better in the second half. It was good for that unit to have a game under their belt. I really think that they will improve from week one to week two.”
On Sean White performance
“Sean is a tough guy. I think everybody knows that. Sean took some licks and he hangs in there. He can throw the ball down the field. He bought himself a little time on a couple of those especially the one that we got the pass interference call. He did an outstanding job of buying himself some time, and took a big lick. He has a good control of our offense, too.”
On John Franklin III performance
“I thought we moved the ball pretty well when he was in there. That was his first time to be out there. We thought he handled himself pretty well. From an offensive standpoint, there were some new faces out there. From a coach’s standpoint, you learn about your guys. We were curious about some of the guys, and we felt like he responded pretty well.”
On continuous red zone woes
“You have to execute. You have to make plays. One time down there, we had a play overturned. It was a really close play. Another time, we had a guy open and barely overthrew him. The bottom line is we have to score points. That will definitely be a focus moving forward.”
On Kyle Davis and Nate Craig-Myers
“Both of those guys you will see on the field more and more. They are very talented. They just need game reps. The first half we were planning on playing our older guys and I think that’s wise, especially in a big game. The first time they play we were going to gradually bring them along. Both of those guys, when they were in there, I thought did some really great things and those guys will be on the field more and more as we go.”
On Will Hastings
“Will’s got some natural abilities. He had some big third-down catches, a fourth-down catch. He’s got some natural things to him. For a new guy, you worry if the moment is too big, but obviously it wasn’t for him. He did well in pressure moments, and I thought that was encouraging. He’s a quick guy, a fast guy, and I thought he did a solid job.”