AUBURN, Ala. – As Auburn heads into the 2019 season, the objective on offense is simple. Get back to the basics. Get back to looking like an Auburn offense.
That means playing fast. That means running the football. That means throwing the ball deep and creating explosive plays. You saw it in the Music City Bowl where the Tigers set the record for most points scored in any half of a bowl game with 56 points in the first half. The hope now is that the bowl performance carries over to the upcoming season.
"Really it's just getting back to the core of who we are," said Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, who took back over play-calling duties in the bowl game. "We're going to do that."
Malzahn will continue to call plays this fall just like he did when he first took over as head coach in 2013. The biggest challenge heading into fall camp is finding out who will be running those plays. Will it be Joey Gatewood, a redshirt freshman oozing with athletic ability and potential. Or it will be a true freshman Bo Nix, an Auburn legacy and one of the more sought-after quarterbacks coming out of high school?
"It's going to be a fierce battle," Malzahn said. "Both of them are great competitors. Both of them have handled themselves really good from a leadership standpoint, understanding that one of their biggest jobs is to earn the trust of their teammates."
Regardless of who wins the job, Malzahn is confident because of the other players on offense who will be surrounding the quarterback. There's a good mix of veterans returning and exciting young talent that is primed to break out.
It starts up front, though, where Auburn has all five starters back on the offensive line. The veteran group went through some growing pains last season, but they improved throughout the year and saved their best for last with a dominant performance in the bowl game. Now as the 2019 campaign approaches, there's both continuity and a new edge about them.
"We want to be known for our physicality," offensive tackle Prince Tega Wanogho said. "As a unit, we're going to play with a chip on our shoulder. We've got something to prove, and we're going to play like that. We've got a goal to reach, so we're all going to play like that."
Wanogho and his fellow offensive linemen took it personal that for the first time since 2008, Auburn didn't have a player go over 1,000 yards rushing. They are hungry to start a new streak this season. So too is JaTarvious Whitlow, the team's leading rusher from a year ago with 787 yards.
"I know after last season and not being able to get that 1,000 rushing yards, (Whitlow) is pretty mad about it," Wanogho said. "During the spring and the summer, you can tell he's trying to take that next step and get better. He's also trying to be a leader in the running back room. So you can tell he's trying to step his game up."
Whitlow is part of a deep running back room this year that includes Kam Martin and Shaun Shivers, the team's second- and third-leading rushers from last season, along with a pair of true freshmen in D.J. Williams and Mark-Antony Richards who both have the ability to come in and contribute early.
The Tigers are also deep at the wide receiver position, despite losing two players to the NFL, thanks in large part to the return of Will Hastings and Eli Stove. The duo missed the majority of last season due to injury, but both are healthy and eager to return this fall.
The one positive to the injuries was it gave freshmen Seth Williams and Anthony Schwartz an opportunity to gain valuable experience and show what they can do. Williams, who caught 26 passes for 534 yards and a team-high five touchdowns, was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team while Schwartz, one of the fastest players in college football, finished with 357 yards receiving, 211 yards rushing and seven total touchdowns.
"The amount of threats we have everywhere is crazy," senior wide receiver Sal Cannella said. "We've got receivers that are big and can go up and get the ball, and we've got receivers with elite speed and unreal shiftiness."
Cannella was third on the team last year with three touchdown receptions. He and Zach Farrar, a graduate transfer from Youngstown State are both listed at 6-foot-4 or taller and both are expected to help the Tigers in the red zone this season.