Gus Malzahn transcript
Opening statement…
"We've got the Iron Bowl at home this week. I know all of our players and coaches are extremely excited about that. You look at last year's game and I thought that we had a good first half, but it got away from us in the second half. We're going to have to do a good job of really playing four quarters of football come Saturday.
When you look at them this year, offensively, they're one of the best in the country -- one of the most explosive offenses in the country, if not the most explosive offense. You look at the receivers—they can all take short ones a long way. Their running backs are very impressive. They do a good job of running. They also do a good job of catching the ball in the backfield. Their offensive line is also one of the best in the country. They do have a new quarterback, but the games that he has played in, he's been efficient. It looks like he has a good grasp of their offense.
"When you look at their defense, one of the top-ranked defenses in our league again. I'm really impressed with the guys they have on the back end. They have good ball-handling skills. They can really run. Special teams—what really stands out to me is their punt returner, [Jalen] Waddle. He's dynamic. He's changed games and field position. You turn on the tape, and it's explosive play after explosive play. We're going to have to do a super job dealing with him.
"This will be our fifth top 10 opponent. It won't be a shock to our system. We're really hoping that it'll be an advantage for us. It'll be senior day which is always special to honor this group that has done such a good job for us. I want to congratulate Derrick Brown—finalist for six national awards. He chose to come back. He's had his best season. He's playing as good of football as anyone in the country. I know that the Heisman is usually for offensive players and all that, but there can't be too many better players around the country that are better than him. I'm real excited for him. Overall, we're excited for the Iron Bowl and we're excited that we're playing it at home."
On the strength of schedule in future seasons…
"I think you have to focus on the Iron Bowl right now – the fact that we are battle-tested. We've played some of the best teams in the country. We've hung in there. We've had chances to win some of those. I think that really helps us. You look at the future, too – we have some outstanding guys. I know the focus has been on the seniors who have done a super job, but we've got some young guys who can flat-out play. The future is real bright. We're real excited for the future. We'll cross that bridge of how the schedule goes next year."
Facing Alabama's defense…
"Like I said, they're statistically one of the best in the league. They play a lot of guys up front. They have a lot of young linebackers, but they're very talented. Really what stands out to me is their secondary. They're very impressive to watch. They've got very good ball skills. They can all run. They all tackle well. They haven't given up a whole lot of explosive plays."
On Bo Nix's progression since the start of the season…
"I think overall it's an understanding of our offense and having a better feel of his teammates – just all the above. He's learned this year against the toughest defenses in college football with the schedule. This is another one. That really helps your learning curve. It accelerates learning, and I think he's got a good command of our offense and the personnel that we have around him."
Nix has a long string without an interception…
"I think that says a lot about his decision-making. Protecting the football is the No. 1 thing, especially when you're playing in big games. It allows you to call plays and trust the quarterback that we aren't going to turn it over. That's the biggest thing. That is very impressive, though, especially for a young quarterback with the defenses he's gone up against."
On the common thread in close losses to Top 10 opponents…
"When you look back at close games, there's a fine line between winning and losing. A lot of times it's either one or two plays and impact plays – plays where the game is on the line and you have to make the play to win the game. That's probably the thing that has stood out the most. We had opportunities. There are one or two things, and if we would've made those plays then we would've had a good chance to win or we would've won the game. When you're playing, it's the top teams that have to make the plays to win the game. That's our goal for this one. We'll need to do that."
Honoring the seniors this week…
"First of all, they're outstanding young men with outstanding families. They have represented Auburn super, off the field, on the field. They're some very talented football players, too. I say it every year. You get close to guys. You're with some of them for three, four or five years. This is their last rodeo, their last home game. It's special. Then you throw in the fact that it's the Iron Bowl on top of that. It's as good as it gets. You can sense our leadership. You can sense the young guys really rallying behind them and knowing how important this is to them and how important their legacy is. Especially with a game like this."
How has your season back as a play-caller been?
"At times we've played good football, at times we've come up a little short. I feel good going into this one. We need to play well on offense, we know that. Really looking forward to getting out there with the bunch."
What makes Derrick Brown so special?
"You usually don't have defensive guys (in the Heisman Trophy race), but if you just look at who the best players are, he needs to be in that conversation. I don't care if it's a kicker, or a defensive player, or an offensive player, he's dominant. He's a game-changing type player, and so that's the reason I wanted to mention that. But I knew that doesn't happen much."
How would you game plan against Derrick Brown?
"You've got to game plan around him – it really starts with him. When you go against him in practice, it's the same deal. He's a disrupter. He had a good year last year, but he's really raised his level playing with confidence. He's disrupting things, and he really makes people around him better."
How do you finish drives better in big games?
"It's about execution in the moment; you've got to execute in the moment. How you do that? You do it on the practice field and just keep repping and getting more confidence. You get more confidence by reps in practice. That's when you get better, and that's what we've constantly tried to do. A lot of things carry over, even though you may have not called something or only called something once in practice reps. You want to make sure and call the things that your players feel comfortable with, that they've repped in practice time and time again and been successful. That's part of it, and we'll need to hit those when we have those opportunities and score touchdowns."
How do you contain Alabama's explosive plays and get explosive plays against them?
"You said it, they're the most explosive or one of the most explosive offenses in the entire country. (Their defense) has given up very few. I think the back-end guys have a lot to say for that. They've done a good job in their one-on-one opportunities, and they haven't given up that many."
How tough is it to coach against Nick Saban?
"First of all, they're talented. They're always one of the most talented teams in the country or the most talented. He does a good job coaching them, and this is the 10th Iron Bowl I've been a part of. So, we know each other pretty good and we'll see what happens."
On the Iron Bowl atmosphere…
"There's nothing like it. The Iron Bowl's different. When I first got here everybody would talk about it, about how special it was and you go 'OK, yeah,' but you've got to experience it. It's one of those things that all you've got to do is experience it one time. Whether you're a coach, player, or a fan, it's different. It's real special, and I feel blessed this will be my 10th one."
How important is it to avoid tendencies?
"It's very important, especially the more talented team you're playing. You're going to have to try to keep them off-balance. That's a big factor."
Status of Mike Horton and Jay Jay Wilson…
"Both of them practiced yesterday and both will practice today."
How was yesterday's practice?
"Yesterday was like our regular Sunday practice, so it was just an hour practice. We just tried to stay in routine. We just switched our off day to our regular day since we have more time not being in school. Same schedule as we have been doing with today being our big workday using Tuesday to get back on track. We will have a normal Wednesday tomorrow, and on Thursday, we will get up early and have our Thursday practice to get our guys out around noon so they can spend time with their families."
Is Jay Jay Wilson a wideout?
"He is very flexible. He can put his hand down and block and we can split him around. You have seen us move him around outside and inside, so he gives you a lot of flexibility to move him around."
Do you like him catching the ball?
"He does do a good job of catching the ball, and he does a good job blocking as well."
Matching up against Mac Jones…
"If you look, he has unbelievable talent all around him. We have got a game or two on him, and you can see he has a good understanding of their offense. You have got to predict how much they are going to put on him, and how they are going to utilize him."
Is there a way to make Alabama one-dimensional?
"That is the goal, but they are very good at running the football, too. You can see that by their average. You definitely have got to stop the run and got to stay away from the big plays. That's the challenge with the big plays because you look at their explosive plays and probably half of them are short ones that went long. They are a very explosive offense."
After 10 years, your favorite and least favorite Iron Bowls…
"Any time you lose to them, it doesn't feel good. 2010 was a lot of fun. I liked it. That one and the Kick Six were good ones."
The throw back to Lutzenkirchen…
"That was a big one. That was Coach [Gene] Chizik's favorite play, so we called it for him and it worked."