AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn center Nick Brahms will make his second consecutive start Saturday against Southern Miss, coach Gus Malzahn said Tuesday.
"We thought he did some good things -- there's nothing like experience, getting out there and running the show," Malzahn said. "We thought he did a solid job last week with that and we expect him to improve."
Brahms, a redshirt freshman, was limited in spring and preseason practice while recovering from a leg injury, before making his first start in Auburn's 34-3 win over Arkansas.
"I thought his identification was pretty good," Malzahn said. "That's what you always worry about, because that's really the quarterback of up front, directing the right way and all that. He did a solid job. Any time you put a new center in, you worry about illegal procedure and everything that goes with that. There were a couple of times our timing was off just a bit, but the more he plays, the more comfortable he will get.
"And I thought he tried to play physical. That's the number one thing that stood out to me -- his physicality, trying to bring a physical presence. I feel like he has a big upside."
Here are some highlights from Malzahn's weekly meeting with reporters:
PASS RUSH
"We talked about putting pressure on the quarterback and disrupting the quarterback. I felt like we did that, and I thought Kevin [Steele] really mixed up his pressures well and presented a lot of different challenges to their offense. I thought that was good."
SPECIAL TEAMS
"In the spring we spent more time in all the special teams than in all the time I've been here. We went more live in practice because we have a dynamic punt returner and we knew if we gave him a chance, which we have done a good job of giving him opportunities, he would do a good job up front and everybody can see what he can do. He's electric with the ball with hands in his face, and Noah [Igbinoghene] is one of the best kick returners in our league. Our special teams are to a point where they are capable of being one of the best or the best in our league; they just have to keep improving. That was a lot of fun to watch on Saturday when all four units played well."
SEEKING EXPLOSIVE PLAYS
"We need the explosive plays. [When] we're at our best, we're playing fast, we're having explosive plays not just in the passing game, but the run game, too. And we haven't had near as many as we have liked, so we've got to figure out how to get that done."
HOMECOMING OPPONENT
"We're looking forward to our fourth straight home game in the month of September. It's also Homecoming, it's a very special time for all of our fans. I know our coaches and players are excited about that, too. We're playing a very good team in Southern Miss, a team that went 8-5 last year and went to a good bowl game.
"Offensively, they can really throw it. I think they're eighth in the country in passing yards. Their quarterback and receivers, they're very impressive. Defensively, they're ninth in total defense. They play extremely hard; they put a lot of pressure on the offense – a very well-coached team and Coach Hopson's a guy that when he was at Alcorn State, we played against each other, so we do know each other fairly well."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer