AUBURN, Ala. – Three decades after beginning his football coaching career in one of his home state's smallest communities, Auburn's Gus Malzahn returned this past Friday to be inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in Little Rock.
"Growing up in the state of Arkansas, and now being able to be a part of the sports hall of fame in your home state is pretty surreal," said Malzahn, who won three high school state championships before moving to college coaching as the offensive coordinator at Arkansas in 2006.
"You look back and all of the different stops that I've made along the way and the people that helped me get to where I'm at, I'm very blessed," he said. "There have been so many great memories. I'm truly honored and appreciative to be part of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame."
Malzahn was one of eight former coaches, players, or teams inducted as part of the 2020 class.
After concluding his playing career at Henderson State, Malzahn got his first coaching job as the defensive coordinator at Hughes High School in 1991, the first stop on a journey that led him to the SEC 15 years later.
"I always knew I wanted to be a coach after I got done playing," Malzahn said. "I was at three high schools in the state of Arkansas, then I got a chance to coach here [in college], one year to be the head coach at Arkansas State, one year to be the OC at Arkansas. I've spent the majority of my career here."
Malzahn's innovative up-tempo offense paved the way for success at each stop, including as Auburn's offensive coordinator on the 2010 national championship. In his first season as a college coach at Arkansas State in 2012, his team won the Sun Belt championship.
He returned to Auburn in 2013, directing the greatest turnaround in college football history and leading the Tigers to the national championship game. In his first seven seasons as Auburn's head coach, he's led the Tigers to three Iron Bowl wins, two SEC Western Division titles and the 2013 SEC championship.
"I've been so blessed to be at Auburn," he said. "This will be my 11th year at Auburn. It's a real honor and a really special thing for me and Kristi to be a part of the Auburn family, doing what we're doing."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer