AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn is only three days into fall camp. The season opener against Oregon is still 26 days away. And yet, there's already a different feel this year. This team is hungry. This team is driven. This team wants to make a statement.
"We all have a chip on our shoulder," safety Daniel Thomas said. "Before we started fall camp, we just talked about how nobody really respects us. We just want to continue to have that chip on our shoulder going into this season like we had in that bowl game. Just treat every game like it's the national championship game."
It was in those practices leading up to the bowl game where that chip began to form. The Tigers weren't happy with how they finished the regular season, and they wanted to send a message in the bowl game. Following a 63-14 beatdown of Purdue, that message was received loud and clear.
That same motivation carried over into the spring and now into fall camp.
That chip @AuburnFootball played with in the bowl game? That urgency? It's still there going into this season.
— Greg Ostendorf (@greg_ostendorf) August 5, 2019
Just ask @gamechanger021.#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/tIUOuZSYWz
It starts at the top with seventh-year head coach Gus Malzahn. Ever since the bowl game when he resumed the play-calling duties, Malzahn has been more engaged. There's a new sense of urgency about him, and it's only elevated as the season approaches.
"It's magnified (in fall camp)," defensive lineman Marlon Davidson said. "He's gotten after our butts the first three days. You can see a different type of guy now that he's calling the plays. He's not as laid-back as he was. He's now more take-charge. He's done a good job, too."
"He's definitely made it clear about what our goals are and what the standards are for this year," added center Kaleb Kim. "If we can all buy into it, I think we definitely have a legitimate shot at whatever we want to accomplish."
What are those standards? Playing fast. Playing physical. Playing Auburn football.
The seniors get it. They've been through fall camp before and know what's expected. However, the coaching staff has been challenging the younger players knowing that they have never been through it before. It doesn't matter if you're a fifth-year senior or a true freshman that arrived this summer. The standards are the same for everybody.
"We're trying to throw a lot of these young guys in there, the least experienced guys in there, and see what they can do and evaluate," Malzahn said after Sunday's practice. "We've been challenging those guys to seize the moment when given the opportunity."
The Tigers will go back to work Monday and Tuesday and then take a day off before they compete in the first scrimmage of fall camp Thursday.
It's a new team, a new Gus Malzahn, and beginning August 31, a new season.