How to watch: UMass Minutemen at Auburn Tigers

OK. Uh really excited that uh game weeks here. It's, um you know, obviously *** lot of work goes into getting to this point, but uh when you finally know that this Saturday will be real, um It's just, you know, it's, it's that time that we got to find out what the revealed party shows uh of who we are. And, you know, so this is, it's exciting. I think our kids are ready. I think our staff is ready and, you know, excited about getting into *** normal week and, um, and really excited about my first experience uh running out in Jordan Hair Stadium and I think that's gonna be phenomenal and exciting and um I've got more family coming than ever before I think. And uh it's just, uh it's, it's gonna be *** magical experience. I know in that stadium provided that we play well and that's the, the pressure or the anxiousness that you feel sitting in this chair is just wanting to deliver. Um, you know, the incredible fan base we have is, you know, welcomed us so much and bought season tickets and we've expanded the, the stadium size and it will be *** capacity uh for Saturday and you hear all those things and you just so badly want to, uh, you know, to deliver. And, um, so hopefully we'll, we'll play well, but no question that we're extremely excited to, uh, to kick off the 23 campaign this Saturday, man. Coach, you guys spend about 1000 hours every offseason preparing for what is ultimately 40 hours of football every fall. Uh What have you told your team about the mental preparation, uh, for the game this week and how to prepare mentally for, for what they're gonna face on Saturday. Well, that, that's, uh, that's something we tried to start in stealing when we got here. Our theme since we've been here has been flipped the script and it's really about rewiring your mind of how you prepare for these, uh, 12 opportunities that we're given. And it's, it's something that has to be done daily that you're your, your whatever is driving your beliefs, uh, are gonna drive some type of behavior and that behavior is gonna create some habits and that habits will ultimately give us all our destiny. And, um, the more of those days that we stack, uh, that we're doing things the right way with the right attitude and with the right passion, uh, then the more prepared we'll be, and I think we're still ongoing in that, um, that's still *** journey and it will be throughout this season. And, uh, to this point. I think we've made progress and made strides in the right direction and hopefully that shows on Saturday. Yeah. Hey, you question, uh, you said on Tiger talk that your run game had been very healthy, been running. Well, uh, is that *** good thing about the run game or are you concerned about the run defense? Uh, you just said it, I don't know, I honestly don't, I mean, I don't know, um, you know, we'll find out more Saturday. Um, are we an effective, um, running the football team against other opponents? Um, or has our defense made us look that good? Uh, and hopefully, um, you know, II, I think when you start getting into *** game week and you start game planning and you figure out this is what we're gonna try to do. Uh, hopefully, you know, we'll be in the right spots and, and play well on both sides. That's the hope the right side of the, uh, are there any players, you know, won't be able to go this weekend? Um Right now I would say JD Rhymes questionable. Uh Nick Martin, Jalen mcleod, um, Nehemiah Pritchett, I think will go. Um, uh, Robbie Ashford is dealing with an oblique strain, but I think he'll go to, um, it wouldn't shock me if, if all of those went truthfully, but it really wouldn't shock me if, if *** few didn't make it either. But our list is pretty short and, uh, hopefully all of them will, will make progress this week and be able to go and Kirsten. Now that you've had, you know, these weeks of fall camp to get all of these new faces in involved heading into that first game. How do you now put some of that puzzle to together of all these new pieces in, into the game itself? Well, we're gonna play all those, those pieces that have earned the right to for that opportunity and then what they do with that opportunity will determine how big of *** piece of the puzzle. They are. It's pretty simple. They go out there and they rush for 100 and 50 yards. They're probably gonna get some more carries. If you go out there and you complete *** high percentage of your passes, you probably gonna get more opportunities and same thing with every position that will grade out, I'll get the grades Sunday and the guys that, uh, that, that did it really well will continue to get those opportunities. Coach looking at the dep chart for the first time at the receiver spot with shorter Kelly, uh Johnson and Hooks was that those guys separating themselves in the wide receiver room or was it more on injuries that we know they dealt with this, this fall? I'm gonna be totally candid with you. I don't even have *** dep chart. So I, I don't know where that came from. I guess that's from the S ID world, I, I don't do dep charts. So, um, you know, I just don't, that, that's, it's really nonsense. Uh, I mean, you're gonna play, you're 4 to 5 outside receivers and you're two or three inside receivers in our system and I don't care who runs out there with the first group or the second group, they freely rotate. So I don't make much of those depth charts and, um, I, I don't know who you said, but if you're talking about the outside guys, I would think you're gonna see *** rotation of uh shorter and, and Malcolm and Hooks and O and Camden Brown, I would think those would be the, the five guys that are gonna get the first rotations at that spot, but I, I am in no way said that one of them was first team and one of them was second team. I just, that, that don't fly with me doesn't work that to the coach. UMass comes in *** lot of preseason polls. Have them dead last in F BS ranked, they score 41 points out at New Mexico State. Uh Don Brown's had *** good track record over the years of being *** good defensive coach. Uh What problems may they present? And how do you guard your team over, over confidence considering that they weren't ranked very high at the end of the year. Well, I've played him every year the last four years and, um, I saw drastic improvement last year under Coach Brown. Um, I have great respect for him. I think he's one of the best defensive play callers in the country last year. Their record was atrocious and they had *** top 10 defense in the country. So, um, now I think they've added 27 transfers most from power five schools. I thought they looked quite different. Um, and New Mexico State is not an easy place to go play and I thought they took care of the football. They didn't turn it over, they got turnovers, they capitalized on turnovers, they threw the ball effectively, which they have not done in the four years that I played them. And I think defensively they play as hard as any team in the country and you combine that with the coach Brown's system, which is very chaotic and uh very hard to um identify for your offensive front at times. Uh They will create negative plays with that and that's, that was *** big challenge for us last year when we played them up at UMass. Um they created *** lot of negative plays against us. Um We managed to score enough points to win the game, but it was, uh it, it was *** challenge and so they have our full attention. I mean, if you look at them defensively, yeah, you know, obviously don is, is, is pretty special as ***, as, I mean, he's been one of the best at Michigan and Arizona and many other places. But, uh, 48 jumps off the page at you as does one and seven. they, they could play at any power five schools. Tho those guys are, are really, really good and really again chaotic in, in their defensive front. Um, when they're mixing it up with all their three down and four down and I think they're deeper than they've been, been and better in the secondary. And then offensively, uh the quarterback makes *** huge difference. I don't, I won't try to pronounce his last name, but uh number three I think is his first name. But uh the running back 15 is really, really good. And Simpson and, and Johnson, those two transfer receivers I think are really talented and, and explosive. So, uh we've got our hands full, I believe that it will not be an easy uh opener and uh one that's gonna challenge us. Oh, hi, coach. So obviously you've coached in these environments here in the SEC before, but returning to it, we always get to know, you know, the players, emotions heading into *** big game in that environment. But I'm curious from your perspective, how do you get yourself prepared for the atmosphere? And do you take *** moment and kind of soak that in especially now making this return? You know, I really haven't thought about that *** lot. Um You know, I soak in every game pretty much, you know, I mean, we've, we've played in, even at Liberty, we played in sec arenas and, um, those are always fun to play in and I embrace those opportunities. Uh, I think the, the most exciting thing with me just be taking in what I consider to be one of the best home atmospheres in college football. And I don't know that I've had that no offense to any other places that I've been. But I just don't, I don't think I've ever been at *** place that, uh that has the, quite the uh enthusiasm and passion and energy that I think Jordan hair is gonna have. And so I will take *** moment to take that in. Right. Oh, I can take it. I can try another one. Tell me what your favorite thing is about what Peyton's done during this, this camp from the first day until today, just what you really liked from him. Uh his attention to every little thing, you know, it just, he's got an advantage that he, he, he's in grad school and he, and he has *** lot of time and so it's important to him and he's constantly studying and I sure hope that translates into his decision making come Saturday now that we're and not just running stuff against the defense that we don't really know what they're doing. Now, you ho honestly get the game plan and say now Peyton, I would expect you to see this and and get it right. And, and he takes great pride in that. So I think it's, um, that's probably been the most impressive thing. It's just, he, he wants to have the, the, the mental part of the game playing totally down. Right. When we talked to Cadillac earlier this month he was talking about, he thought that this was the deepest running back room he's had, uh, since he's been here is how much do you like leaning on? The fact that you got multiple guys? Not just maybe one or two that, that can, that can give you all good carries. Well, the facts are, if you're able to run the ball, you can shorten the game and I think that may be advantageous to us this year. And so are we good enough in the old line tight ends and running back room to do that in *** league that has tremendous defensive linemen? I don't know yet, but I do think that our running back room is very solid top to bottom and we're gonna lean on them heavily. Second row. Obviously, you know, the first thing is *** win, but what are some of the other type of things that you're looking for on Saturday that you'd really like to see? Well, you would like to, even if though was game one, you would like for it to be clean that, uh, we're not having pre snap penalties or, um, turning the ball over. Um, any foolish penalties. Um, and you'd like to see them play with great passion. So those would be the things that, you know, obviously you want to win the game and you want to look good. But, um, that's always *** fear, I guess you have of, you're not quite sure how *** new team that we've, you know, piece meal together ever since we've been here and now they're fixing to get out there in front of 88,000 and *** loud crowd and, you know, how will we handle all of our emotions and does it cause us to have *** foolish penalty here or there and things like that you can't do and win games and so just hope it's *** clean game for us. Mhm. You obviously, you know, go back to, UMass them playing in week zero. You guys already having some tape, do you think that's maybe *** significant advantage? Is that maybe something that's not super important, I guess? How do you feel now with having some tape on them and them not having any on you guys? It, it definitely helped to, uh, they're, they're quite different on offense than they've been in the past. So defensively, it's the same that I've faced but, uh, offensively they're quite different and, um, you kind of wish you had even ***, more of *** sample size. But, uh, it's, it's, it's no question that with everything I saw them do with their motions and shifts and the RP OS and, uh, you know, that they have more to do with that than just what they showed. And so I think they've, they're, they're very similar to us truthfully now and there's, there's *** lot of options and, uh, this quarterback, you've got to be aware of him, um, both running and passing. So it's, it was quite different. So I think it was helpful that correct you, uh, what have you seen from Omari Kelly in this camp? And, and how much has he maybe progressed even since the spring? Love his energy, love the way he practices, love the juice he brings to the, to the field, uh just getting him, not just him, the biggest struggle with the receivers is getting them to play with the same tempo on every single route and every single play, they don't know when it's coming to them half the time and we take too many plays off. Uh I think we've gotten better, better with that and we need to see, continue to improve, but, but real curious to see how we do in the game, but O has improved uh each week. So on, on special teams, how much of *** weapon is that going to be with mcpherson kicking the ball and then the senior Chapman punting the ball. How much of *** weapon for you against umass? And then for 2023 will the special teams be I, I don't want them. I'm more excited about that than, than I have been in the ever before coaching. Probably. I, I think we got two special guys there and I hope I don't jinx them or, but, uh, to this point I have been incredibly pleased with, uh, with both of them and I think there are weapons that are gonna be very, very huge for us. The two on the front left coach you said this spring that you felt like, um, the development of the offense that you and Philip Montgomery were coming up with nobody knowing what it was was *** significant advantage. You know, what can fans expect in terms of offensive identity this season in and how Auburn is gonna run the football and pass the football. Well, I'm never going to change what I believe in and, and I believe you have to be *** threat to run the football. Um, but I also believe that *** throw off of *** run is *** run. And so, you know, I, I may come in here after *** game and you guys say, man, coach, you only rushed for 90 yards, but you threw for 400. You know, to me, I want to know what the average per carry was if that makes sense. Um, because you don't know it, but probably 15 of those passes were runs and, but the defense had an extra hat and so I don't think that's real smart football um to, to constantly run into an extra guy in the box. And so to me, those are kind of rushing yards. So I think you gotta, but you have to, you have to be *** threat to run the ball. You can't be one dimensional, so you have to stay balanced and balance doesn't always show on the stat sheet to me, but it does when I go and look and say all these 10 runs, we, you know, we threw for 100 yards on them. Um Then I know, but I really want to know what that average per carry was when we did hand it off because it usually tells me we're making the right decision and we're handing it into good boxes and if we're constantly making the wrong decision and hand it into *** bad box that, that average is probably gonna go down. Uh Yes, you, uh Griffin speaks local kid Baylor transfer. What have you seen from him? Allow him to be in the rotation potentially at safety and special teams. I think he's got *** shot to be in the rotation this Saturday. And what happens from that point on? I know he's on some special teams and, uh, I think he'll get *** shot to get some reps uh, as *** backup safety too and we'll see how he performs, uh, in the right spot at the right time, knows the system gets the checks. Um, you know, so I think, you know, wish you were *** little bigger and faster. But, uh, but he's gonna be in the right spot and he's not afraid to contact. And, um, so I think he, he can get everybody on the right page back there, particularly if you're playing all those young ones around him. You've mentioned him *** few times already, but Don Brown's had this legendary career on defense. Like what makes him such man, his defense is so good. You, since you faced him, you know, sometimes now he gave me fits last year, you know, and I've watched that, that game *** lot of times and, and we scored 42 points but it felt like it was 12, you know, I mean, it just, it was hard. Um, but he, he misses it up between even and odd and then when he gets in his OD, he's gonna have these spinner backs and you never know where they are. And it's just hard to identify for your old line. Exactly. You know, what, what the combinations need to go to in the run game and in the past pro. And so we got *** lot of studying more to do today to, to make sure we're is good, but he, there's going to be some negative plays there, there's, uh it is, is it the whole deal is trying to confuse the O line and, um, and they're effective with that. We just gotta make sure that they're effective with that at *** small percentage. You going back to Peyton, I guess, how do you maybe simplify is not the right word, but when you have *** first game with *** new quarterback, how do you sort of, you know, maybe ease him into that while still keep making sure you guys have *** dynamic passing game. Yeah, you know, you would like to, I've, I've always felt like I would like to start *** few games with some simple completions for him. Um This is *** little harder to do because of their trap coverage. You're, you're *** little nervous to, to work too much quick game right off the bat because they'll, they'll, I mean, they did *** beautiful job and they run it *** little different than *** lot of people, but uh in their trap coverage, they had *** pick six the other night, they got three turnovers which resulted in 21 points. Uh, one was *** pick six off of that trap coverage and, uh, he, he really did *** nice job of deceiving the quarterback. So you gotta be careful what I would like to do is throw *** quick hitch or two every now and then, but they don't really give you that opportunity. So Peyton's gonna have to take what they give and, and throw the passes and complete the ones that, uh, that work against this scheme. No, thank y'all.