Auburn football: What people are saying about the Marcus Davis hire

The Auburn football program said good bye to Bryan Harsin and hello to Hugh Freeze in 2022, welcoming an almost completely new coaching staff to the Plains. Freeze retained several key staffers, all three of whom played for the Tigers in college: Zac Etheridge (secondary), Trovon Reed (director of football and recruiting relations), and Cadillac Williams (associate head coach and running backs).

Several key staffers followed Freeze from Liberty, but the final piece of Freeze’s inaugural staff on the Plains is yet another former Auburn football player. Marcus Davis, who played wide receiver for the Tigers from 2013 to 2016, was officially announced this week as the wide receivers coach.

Prior to this year’s return to the Plains, Davis worked for Gus Malzahn’s staff as an offensive analyst in 2018 and spent the 2019 season as the assistant director of player development and personnel. In 2020, Davis followed former Malzahn staffer Kenny Dillingham to Florida State before his 2021 stint as Hawaii’s wide receivers coach.

This past season, Davis coached up Georgia Southern’s wide receivers and helped the Eagles maintain the No. 4 passing game in all of college football.

Anytime a former Auburn football player returns as a coach, Tiger fans are always happy, and Davis returns to campus with glowing praise from his former athletics director Jared Benko at Georgia Southern, per Auburn Live:

"“He’s a professional. He brings it every day to practice. He’s high energy. He’s not a yeller or screamer, he’s all about teaching. He played at a high level at Auburn. He has the leadership abilities. He had great knowledge of offense. He’s sharp, he’s a grinder, and he’s an elite, elite recruiter. If Marcus is on a guy, I always felt really good that we were going to get him. And as a family man, he knows what it’s all about at Auburn. He is mature beyond his years. Coach Freeze couldn’t have made a better hire. There’s no question he’s going to be a valuable member of that staff.”"

Here’s what Coach Freeze said, per Auburn Undercover:

"“Marcus has achieved success at every stop of his career, from his time as a player at Auburn to each of his coaching positions,” Freeze said. “He is one of the bright young coaches in our business and his knowledge of Auburn combined with his work ethic will be a tremendous asset to our program.”"

Although Marcus Davis has made many stops in college football along his way back to Auburn, it’s clear that the former Tiger wide receiver is happy to be back home on the Plains.