AUBURN, Ala. – In the third week of the 2008 college football season, No. 17 Oregon's defensive game plan challenged Boise State's young quarterback in his first road game.
Redshirt freshman Kellen Moore and then-Boise State offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin were ready.
"That was a big moment," said Moore, who passed for 386 yards and three touchdowns in the Broncos' 37-32 win. "We ended up throwing a lot because of the way their defense was playing. The trust that we had to have in each other. 'Hars' dialed up some phenomenal plays to create some one-on-one opportunities that turned out really explosive and big swinging plays in that game.
"That was a big moment, both as a team and obviously 'Hars' and I, that we can do this and do this at a really high level."
With Harsin as Moore's position coach and play caller, Boise State went 38-2 from 2008-10. In 2011 after Harsin left to be the QB coach and co-offensive coordinator at Texas, Moore added 12 additional victories giving the left-hander 50 wins, the most for a quarterback in FBS history.
Fourteen years after that upset at Oregon, Moore and Harsin reunited on the Plains Friday at Auburn's coaches clinic with Moore, the Dallas Cowboys' offensive coordinator, presenting on offensive tempos to the 250 high school coaches in attendance.
"It was a great example for me as I progressed into wanting to be a coach, how collaborative 'Hars' was," Moore said. "It was very much a conversation, working together to find solutions. That was a huge lesson for me being around 'Hars.' He's really smart, really well-prepared. He knew his stuff and allowed me to be part of that. I thought that was really special."
Moore credits Harsin and Boise State's coaching staff for nurturing Kellen's interest in coaching.
"You see this special nucleus that makes you say, 'I want to do that for a living' because I see it done the right way," Moore said. "He's had a ton of success wherever he's been. He's always impacted people positively."'I want to do that for a living': Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore says Auburn's Bryan Harsin influenced him to become a coach
Fellow Dallas assistant coach Joe Whitt Jr., a former Auburn football player whose dad coached at Auburn for 25 seasons, also led a session, along with Karl Dunbar, Brian Schottenheimer, Kane Wommack and Dr. Tony Evans.
"I'm an Auburn Tiger all the way," Whitt said. "We'll get on the board and I'll learn from some of these guys and they'll hopefully get something from me."
Whitt recalls taking notes as a boy while his dad graded film in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum when the older Whitt served on Coach Pat Dye's staff in the 1980s.
"I love Auburn," said Whitt, the Cowboys' defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach. "I grew up here. This is home. It means the world to me. I love to be a fan of Auburn."
Accepting Harsin's invitation to speak at Auburn's clinic gave Whitt the opportunity to visit his parents, his alma mater and his hometown, and hear Harsin's vision for his second season to lead the Tigers.
"Everything I've heard about him is he's a great coach," Whitt said. "He understands how to put points up. I'm excited to see his vision come to life moving forward.
"These guys want to have an opportunity to play on the next level. He has the ability to give them that opportunity. When you have a guy who is detailed and understands how to win, it's going to give us a chance to win here at Auburn."'I love Auburn': Dallas Cowboys assistant coach Joe Whitt Jr.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
