Auburn football players reveal the motto of the defense

While the Auburn football offense has struggled for much of the season, the defense has been the saving grace of this team. The offense has had a hard time finding an identity between the quarterback rotation and the wide receivers unit, but the defense has been locked in.

One thing about the Auburn football defense is they love a motto or a catchphrase. There’s cornerback Jaylin Simpson’s “plankton mentality” and linebacker Eugene Asante’s “let’s work” to the secondary’s turnover seatbelt.

Recently, the Tigers’ coaches have added another mantra to the list: Survive the script. Although it sounds similar to head coach Hugh Freeze’s “flip the script” it has a completely different meaning for the defense, per The Montgomery Advertiser:

"“Our coaches just say, ‘Survive the script.’ That’s what we know,” [D.J.] James said Saturday after his team’s 31-15 win. “Every coach, every offensive coordinator, they’ve got a script for the first 10 plays. … Once we get through the script, we’ve pretty much got what we’re doing. And we’ll just adjust on the sideline.”"

“The script” is the offensive game plan drawn up by the other team for the very beginning of the game, usually comprised of solid, well-practiced plays that are meant to score early points. Defensive coaches are telling the players to lock in early, survive that first set of plays, and then make adjustments on the sidelines.

Simpson went on to say that surviving the script really sets the tone for the Tigers’ defense and sets them up for a strong game:

"“We haven’t been starting off too hot almost every game, but we survive that script and I feel like nobody can mess with us. That plays a big role.”"

Auburn football will return to action this Saturday on the road against Arkansas with a kickoff time of 3:00 p.m.