AUBURN, Ala. – Between the 2019 and 2020 season, the whiteboards in the Boise State meeting room saw plenty of use. Coaches would draw up various plays or formations, erase them, and then draw up new ones the next meeting as they prepared for each opponent.
But on one of the whiteboards there was an area that was off limits. There was even a note next to it which read, "Do not erase." What was so special in that area? A simple message.
"Do something better today than you did yesterday."
It was written on there in April 2019 by Bo Jackson. Yes, that Bo Jackson.
"That was a 12-1 season for the Broncos, and every team meeting I set in there, I usually finished it with looking at that quote," head coach Bryan Harsin said. "I'd point at it and say, 'How about that? Why don't we go out there and do that today? And then figure out how we're going to be better tomorrow.'
"It was very simple. It was very clear. It was concise. It was to the point. And (Jackson) made it very clear that if you're not the ultimate competitor and this is not what you want to be, it's probably not the place you need to be."
Last week, nearly two years after Jackson visited Boise State, Harsin was introduced as the 28th head football coach in Auburn history. Jackson, an Auburn legend who won the 1985 Heisman Trophy, was part of the eight-member advisory group who assisted with the coaching search that ultimately landed on Harsin.
In his introductory press conference Thursday, Harsin told the story of his chance encounter with one of the greatest running backs in college football history. It started when Harsin was approached by his running backs' coach Lee Marks.
"Hey, if Bo Jackson could come in here and talk to our team, you think we should do that," Marks asked.
"Hold on, stop," Harsin responded. "What are you talking about? You're talking about Bo Jackson? The same Bo Jackson I'm talking about?"
Indeed, it was. Jackson happened to be in Boise on business at the time, and when Harsin walked into his office the Monday after the spring game, he was greeted by Jackson.
"I remember coming into my office," Harsin said. "Kes was there. My daughters were there. I had the picture of him in the Raiders uniform on my screen. I walk in the office, and there he is. There's Bo Jackson sitting in my office. In our football facility in Boise, Idaho, of all places."
The two chatted for 15 minutes before walking down to the football facility to meet with the team. The players didn't know Jackson was going to be there initially. They watched a video of Jackson running out of the tunnel, climbing the outfield wall and making the catch. After the video, Jackson walked out and surprised the team.
Thank you @BoJackson for visiting the Broncos today! We're extremely grateful and inspired! #GoBroncos pic.twitter.com/ogcBi3ImGy
— Bryan Harsin (@CoachHarsin) April 8, 2019
Jackson opened with a little small talk and then took out his wallet.
"Who's the fastest guy in this room," he asked.
John Hightower, a wide receiver who now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, raised his hand.
"I could beat you," Jackson said.
"You could've heard a pin drop in there," Harsin said. "Because I believed him. And John's up there like, 'He might beat me.' (Jackson) put his wallet away and said, 'I'm just kidding. There's no chance of that right now.' He went on. He stayed there for about an hour and 20 minutes. It was one of the most incredible experiences our players have had with a guest speaker coming in there and somebody of his magnitude.
"But he talked about so many of the same things I'm talking about right now. He shared the message that I know now from Auburn University. And he also talked to our guys about being the ultimate competitor. If you don't believe that you're going to outwork everybody that you go against, then you shouldn't be in this room."
When Jackson finished talking to the Boise State team, that's when he went to one of the white boards and wrote eight simple words: "Do something better today than you did yesterday."
It's a message that stayed on that whiteboard throughout the 2019 season and carried over into the 2020 season. It's a message Harsin will now take with him from Boise State to Auburn where he hopes to make Jackson and the rest of the Auburn Family proud.
"Auburn is about people," Harsin said. "This is what I wanted to be a part of. This is what I wanted my family to be a part of. I'm proud to be here and more importantly, when people and our fans watch this team play, I want them to be proud of the team that's on that field. And I want them to be proud that I'm the head coach at Auburn University."