Auburn football: Bryan Harsin’s take on key special teams penalty

The Auburn football team had a pretty successful season opener in their 2022 debut versus the Mercer Bears. While it is certainly hard to judge how good the Tigers will be going forward considering they have only faced off against an FCS opponent, there were many good things to be recognized.

For one, the team accumulated very few fouls throughout the contest, and played with the discipline of a well-coached team. However, there was one penalty call that turned heads for a lot of people, including head coach Bryan Harsin.

In the fourth quarter, the Bears were set to punt on fourth down with four yards to go from the 41 yard line. However, the ball was snapped and then not caught by the Bears’ punter, who then raced nearly all the way back to the end zone to secure the ball.

Somehow, the punter was able to turn and get the ball off, but not in enough time for Auburn football’s defense to get to him, and both defensive end Dylan Brooks and linebacker Barton Lester ran into him, earning the Tigers a penalty.

Following the game, Coach Harsin submitted the call to SEC officials for review and explanation, and here is the answer he got, per AL.com:

"“This one, what happened, when the ball went over his head, it stayed in the tackle box,” Harsin said. “So, he has the protection in that tackle box all the way back to the goal line. So, as long as he’s in that tackle box, he has protection — as long as he stays in the pocket and continues to make a punter-type move. So, what happened — and the official, this is a judgment call on his part — when the punter turned around, if he had made a move and tried to wiggle one way and get away from somebody and then try to punt it, we could smack him. Aight, we could hit him. But he turned right around, recognized that guys were coming after him, and he made — the first thing he did was try to punt the ball, and Barton Lester’s there.“What Barton should’ve done — we talk about never leaving our feet — what he should’ve done is ran through the ball and blocked it with his hands, and then when you block it, you can hit the punter after you block it. But he left his feet, the punter kicks the ball past him, and then he hits the punter, so it ends up being a roughing-the-punter is what it is. “"

Harsin went on to say that he would be using the penalty call as a teaching moment for the special teams unit, emphasizing that they need to remain on their feet and run through the ball to block it to ensure the hit on the punter is legal.

The Auburn football team will take the field next tomorrow night against San Jose State from Jordan-Hare Stadium at 6:30 p.m.