Nov. 27, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele was named one of five finalists for the 2017 Broyles Award on Monday. The award is given annually to the most outstanding assistant coach in college football.
"With what he is doing right now with our defense, I think he deserves the award," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said after Saturday's game. "Our defense is one of the best in the country, and I am real proud of them."
In his second season at Auburn, Steele has directed a defense that currently ranks No. 11 nationally in total defense (303.3 yards per game) and No. 9 in scoring defense (16.4 points per game). The Tigers have allowed 3,639 yards of total offense this season, the fewest an Auburn defense has allowed in the first 12 games of a season since 2007 (3,580).
Auburn ranks No. 6 nationally in yards per play (4.42), and the Tigers have allowed negative or no yards on 303 of 823 plays (36.8 percent) defended this season.
"It's like any award that comes to a group in this business," Steele said when he made the group of semifinalists. "This is not golf. We don't go out there and play with our own bag and our own clubs and our own ball and everything counts for us. It's a group effort. The players play. Coaches don't play. Any award that comes, it's the players. So my deal is whatever award that the group gets, they deserve it."
This is the first time that Steele, a coaching veteran of 37 years, has been a finalist for the award, though Auburn has been well-represented in the past. Former offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee was a finalist in 2013, and Malzahn won the award in 2010 when he was the team's offensive coordinator.
The other finalists this year include Clemson co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliot, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Bill Bedenbaugh, UCF offensive coordinator Troy Walters and Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
The winner will be announced on Tuesday, Dec. 5 in Little Rock, Ark.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf