AUBURN, Ala. – When new head coach Bryan Harsin assembled his coaching staff, he brought a handful of coaches with him from Boise State. He sought out coaches who had SEC experience or coaches who had roots in the Southeast. He retained former Auburn star Carnell "Cadillac" Williams from the previous staff.
But no matter where they came from, they all had one thing in common. A desire to win.
"I think we've surrounded ourselves with coaches that want to be the best," Harsin said. "Every coach on this staff is a competitor. Every coach on this staff wants to be the best at the position that they're coaching. They want to compete, and they want to win.
"It wasn't just go find some of the voids to fill out a staff, to make sure I have some support here in this area, some connections here and some experience there. It still comes down to who wants to compete and win, who wants to develop players, who wants to be a part of Auburn football."
This week, as spring practice rolls on, the position coaches are speaking with the media for the first time. Here's a look at some of the highlights from the offensive coaches who spoke Monday.
Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, Running Backs
On being retained by Coach Harsin…
"With Coach Harsin, it honestly came down to him knowing that I wanted to be here at Auburn and I wanted to make that step and I was on board with turning this thing around and buying in and being a guy that is not going to be bigger than Auburn. I know I have this Cadillac name, but at the end of the day I am a humble guy. My relationship with these players and what this school means to me – I'm willing to do everything I can to get this program back to winning championships. I think he felt that vibe from me."
On the new offense…
"We're going to run the football. We're going to come off the ball flying. These backs are going to get downhill. We're going to take our shots and have our opportunities, but again, we want to be a physical, downhill running team. I think, so far, we have exemplified a lot of those things."
Cornelius Williams, Wide Receivers
On Coach Harsin…
"What he's brought here in, in my opinion, is the mindset and culture and what Auburn stands for. You walk around here and see all this stuff on the walls talking about working hard, believing that you can be the best, all those different things. That's what he's pushing and making sure these guys understand this program."
On the importance of recruiting…
"We definitely have to continue to recruit because recruiting is going to bring competition. That's what we need all across the board. You have to have competition to be successful. Every single team I've been a part of that has been a winning team, I have seen that. You've got to have competition because that's going to have everybody competing and that breeds success if the culture is right. You have to go out and recruit guys that are going to come in and challenge the guys you already have. That's huge."
Brad Bedell, Tight Ends
On bringing energy to practice…
"No. 1, this is a phenomenal game, and for me to sit on the field and just stare and say, 'Hey, that's a good job right there,' I'd feel like I'm a history teacher. Nothing against history teachers, but this is a game built off energy, built off just flat-out wanting to go beat the people (across from you). I've never been a guy who's just going to sit there and not run around – that's all I am is energy and positive."
On utilizing tight ends in the offense…
"I think it's going to be important. If you really look at Coach Bobo and his offenses and Coach Harsin and what we did at Boise State and things like that, tight ends have a big role in this offense. That's something that's going to be developed and you're seeing it more and more and more in practice. The more the better, in my opinion. But it's going to be a very important role as we go through and really rebuild the future of this program."
Will Friend, Offensive Line
On building chemistry on the offensive line…
"There's no question with an offensive line that's a quality that's as important as anything. It's kind of a unit within a unit, a team within a team. Every group I've been a part of that's been a productive group or a good unit, they've had great chemistry. They cared a lot about each other, they've cared about their program, they've cared about their university. Character is so important at that position. I do think I see some of that in the group in the little bit of time I've been around them so that's a start. It's hard to be successful at this position without that."
On having center Nick Brahms back…
"I think if you're going to be successful, like in a lot of sports, it starts in the middle. It's no different on the offensive line. I think that's important. That guy has got to be a guy that is kind of your glue that holds it all together. He's connecting the front sides and back sides of run and pass, he's working on communication, he's the one who's more connected to the quarterback than anybody else. So that's important. You have to be productive, and you have to be good at that position. So it's good to have a guy with some experience that's back. Nick's a guy who really wants to work. It's important to him. He's worked hard this spring."