< PreviousDEFENSIVE B A CKS 21 From the outside of Auburn’s punt block formation, Jordyn Peters calcu- lates the route he’ll take from the line of scrimmage to reach his destination. “You burst off the line,” he said. “You see the punter catches it, the whole time I’m thinking, ‘Am I going to get there? Am I going to get there?’” Against Arkansas – for the fourth time in his Auburn career – Peters got there, blocking a punt that teammate Barton Lester recovered in the end zone for a touchdown in the Tigers’ 30-28 victory. “Doo, DOO!” Peters said, imitating the twin thuds a football makes when it’s punted and blocked within a fraction of a second. “That’s the sound the ball makes when you hit it.” Back on the sideline after a big play, “Doo DOO” takes on a celebratory tone. “It gets everybody hyped,” he said. “The little sound: Doo DOO – that just lets us know that we accomplished what we were supposed to do. It’s time to celebrate after that.” Peters doesn’t always rush the punt- er. A variety of factors influence whether he goes for the block or engages an op- ponent in hopes of buying time for punt returner Christian Tutt, all part of the cat-and-mouse game within the game. “One game, I might not go block at all, I might be straight return,” he said. “It’s really a week-to-week basis, de- pending on the game plan. If they get in a certain formation, we know we have a higher percentage of blocking it.” As a sophomore in 2018, Peters led the SEC and ranked second nationally with three blocked punts, realizing the premium Auburn places on special teams soon after arriving from Muscle Shoals High School in northwest Alabama. “Coming in freshman year, the coaches really emphasize, if you want to make the travel team, you need to focus on special teams,” Peters said. “That’s your ticket in to get your foot in the door to more playing time when you first come on as a freshman. “All freshman year, that’s what I focused on because I knew that was the quickest route to getting more playing time. As I kept progressing through, I figured out this is fun, it comes easily to me, and I’m good at it.” (continued on page 23) A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M VERSATILE AUBURN DBs CONTRIBUTE TO SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS BY JEFF SHEARER Jordyn Peters DEFENSIVE B A CKS 23 (continued from page 21) Along with Auburn’s kickoff, kick return and punt teams, Peters and his teammates take pride in special teams. “It really started with focusing on making special teams a big aspect of the game because a lot of teams forget about it, just as a play in between of- fense and defense, not a play for itself,” he said. “Our coaches emphasize it a lot so as a team, we all try to take special teams seriously.” For Peters, setting the table for Les- ter’s first touchdown was a bonus. “I loved to see Bart get that touch- down,” Peters said. “Bart and I are close friends. We have a lot of classes together since we’ve been here. He and I really have a close friendship so that was special for me to block it and for him to get that touchdown.” Part of a tight-knit Auburn second- ary, Peters made a career-high 13 tackles and broke up a pass against Georgia when a fellow safety was sidelined early. Working as a unit, the Tiger defen- sive backs are committed to developing the next group at their position. Tray Matthews and Stephen Roberts helped teach Jeremiah Dinson and Daniel Thomas, who showed the ropes to cur- rent Auburn safeties Jamien Sherwood and Smoke Monday. “I feel like we have a great defense,” said Monday, who returned an inter- ception for a touchdown in Auburn’s 2019 Iron Bowl win. “It comes down to effort. We always play with great effort, physicality.” The quarterbacks of the secondary, Monday and Sherwood make sure Au- burn’s defensive back are properly lined up to defend formations and personnel that can change play-to-play. “It’s a huge responsibility for me because coming in my freshman year, I didn’t start but I knew I had to prepare like I was a starter,” Monday said. “By me doing that since my freshman year, it just came naturally to me. “Once I got an opportunity to be the leader of the defense, I was ready for it. I feel like a lot of guys feed off of that. It’s just who I am.” Both juniors, Monday and Sherwood instantly earned playing time after arriv- ing in 2018. (continued on page 55) A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M Christian Tutt Roger McCreary A LOOK BACK AT THE 2010 ARKANSAS GAME #7 Auburn 65, #12 Arkansas 43 Jordan-Hare Stadium - Auburn, Ala. Oct. 16, 2010 L OOK B A CK: 2010 VS. ARKANSAS 25 A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M 65 Auburn’s 65 points against Arkansas in 2010 set program records for the most points scored against an SEC opponent and the most points scored against an AP-ranked opponent. 328 Cam Newton accounted for 328 yards of total offense and four total touchdowns. Newton ran 25 times for 188 yards and three scores and was 10 of 14 for 140 yards and a touchdown in the air. 3 Auburn forced three Arkansas fourth-quarter turnovers to break open the game after the Razorbacks took a 43-37 lead in the first minute of the final period. 28 The Tigers scored 28 points in the fourth quarter, which is the most points they had scored in the final period since also scoring 28 fourth-quarter points against Florida State in 1985. 300 Wes Byrum was perfect on the day, connecting on three field goals and eight PATs. In the process, Byrum became the 21st player in SEC history to surpass 300 career points. HEAD C O A CH GUS MALZAHN 27 In seven years as head coach at Auburn, Gus Malzahn has led the Tigers to seven consecutive bowl games, a Southeastern Conference Champi- onship, two SEC West Division titles and an appearance in the 2014 BCS National Championship Game. Malzahn has directed Auburn to five New Year’s Day bowl games. Malzahn, 71-34 in eight seasons as a head coach, has directed teams to seven conference championship game appearances in his 14 seasons as a collegiate coach, including a pair of SEC Championships at Auburn (2010, 2013) and a Sun Belt Championship at Arkansas State in 2012. The 2013 Bear Bryant, Bobby Bowden, Eddie Robinson, Home Depot, Sporting News, SB Nation, Liberty Mutual and Associated Press National Coach of the Year, Malzahn earned SEC Coach of the Year honors after guiding Auburn to the biggest turnaround in SEC history. He led the Tigers to a 12-2 record and one of the most memorable seasons in school history in 2013, with historic wins over Georgia and Alabama and a record-setting SEC Championship win over Missouri. He became just the third coach in SEC history to win an SEC title in his first year at a school, joining LSU’s Bernie Moore in 1935 and Ole Miss’ John Vaught in 1947. The second-longest active tenured head coach at one school in the SEC, Malzahn is one of only nine active FBS head coaches that have played in a national championship game. During his time at Auburn, the Tigers are one of three SEC schools to play in multiple SEC Championships games and play for a national championship. Last season the Tigers had one of the nation’s most difficult schedules while posting a 9-4 record with wins over na- tionally ranked Oregon and Alabama to bookmark the regular season schedule. Auburn’s schedule included four games against teams in the top nine of the final CFP rankings. Senior Derrick Brown was a consensus All-America and SEC Defensive Player of the Year while help- ing a Tiger defense rank in the top 20 nationally. Offensively, Auburn was led by true freshman quarterback Bo Nix, who was named the SEC Freshman of the Year. The Tigers concluded the reg- ular season third in the SEC in scoring offense and fourth in total offense. In 2018, the Tigers posted an 8-5 regular season record while facing six opponents that were ranked in the final College Football Playoff Top 25 (four of those played away from home), including four teams of the top 11 teams. The Tigers capped the season with an impressive 63-14 win over Purdue in the Music City Bowl. With Malzahn at the helm calling the plays, the Tigers’ 63 points were a new SEC bowl game record for points, and the 56 first-half points were the most ever by a college football team in one half of a bowl game. In 2017, Malzahn’s team reached as high as No. 2 in the College Foot- ball Playoff Poll and played in the SEC Championship Game for the second time in five seasons, knocking off No. 1 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama in a No- vember to remember on The Plains. It was the first time in poll history that a program has defeated two top-ranked teams during the same regular season. The 2017 Tigers were one of four FBS teams to average more than 225 yards rushing and 225 yards passing and averaged 37.1 points per game in league play. Auburn averaged 40.9 points and 491.1 yards in SEC action, both program bests, while winning five of seven con- ference games by 21 points or more. In 2016, Malzahn’s team won six consecutive games, the third longest win streak by Auburn in 12 years, while finishing second in the nation’s most difficult division, the SEC West. Under his direction, the 2016 Tigers ranked in the top 50 nationally in total offense and total defense, an Auburn first since 2005. Auburn’s balance in 2016 was dis- played by a team that ranked first in the SEC and sixth nationally in rushing, cou- pled with a defense that was seventh in the country in scoring defense and 28th in total defense. The special team units, traditionally been a strong point under Malzahn, were led by the strong leg of All-America and Groza Award finalist kicker Daniel Carlson. In 2015, the youthful Tigers, which lost 14 players to the NFL from the previ- ous season, faced 11 bowl teams en route to a Birmingham Bowl victory over Mem- phis. Malzahn’s 2014 team was ranked in the nation’s top 10 for a majority of the season before finishing 8-5 after navigating the nation’s most difficult schedule featuring seven ranked foes. He has produced 15 1,000-yard rushers in 14 seasons as a college coach, including Heisman Trophy finalist Tre Mason (1,816) and Nick Marshall (1,068) in 2013 and Cameron-Artis Payne (1,608) in 2014. Kamryn Pettway ran for 1,123 yards in 2016 despite missing significant time with injuries and Kerryon Johnson led the SEC with 1,320 yards in 2017. On three occasions, Malzahn has had two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season: 2013 (Auburn), 2010 (Auburn) and 2006 (Arkansas). Malzahn has also coached five 1,000-yard receivers and three 3,000-yard passers. His 2007 Tul- sa team had three 1,000-yard receivers. Since Malzahn’s arrival, Auburn has the top rushing offense in the SEC, averaging 234.6 yards per game. In 2013, Auburn led the nation in rushing at 328.3 A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M GUS MALZAHN HEAD COACHCONECUH - Auburn REV 8.19 Full.indd 18/15/19 12:25 PMHEAD C O A CH GUS MALZAHN 29 yards per game, the first SEC team ever to do so. Three of the top six team rushing totals in SEC history (2010, 2013, 2016) have come under Malzahn’s leadership. Auburn was just the second team in SEC history to gain more than 7,000 yards of total offense in a season in 2013, finishing the year with 7,018 yards; the other was Texas A&M in 2012. The Tigers set a school record with 48 rushing touchdowns in 2013 and set a school record against SEC opponents with 677 yards of total offense vs. No. 5 Missouri in the SEC Championship Game. The Tigers set SEC Championship Game team records with 26 rushing first downs, 74 rushing attempts, 545 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. Tre Mason, a Heisman Trophy finalist and 2013 SEC Player of the Year, ranked third in the nation with 23 touchdowns, was fifth nationally with 1,816 yards rushing, sixth with 10.7 points per game, sixth with 169.57 all-purpose yards per game and eighth with 129.7 rushing yards per game. Mason set the Auburn single-season record with 1,816 rushing yards and 2,374 all-purpose yards and was second with 317 rushing attempts. His 46 rushing attempts and 304 rushing yards vs. No. 5 Missouri set SEC Championship Game records and fell three yards shy of the Auburn record. In Malzahn’s seven seasons, a total of 32 players have been selected in the National Football League draft, includ- ing four first round draft picks, includ- ing Derrick Brown (No. 7) and Noah Igbinoghene (No. 30) in the 2020 NFL Draft. Malzahn’s other first round picks including Greg Robinson (No. 2 overall) and Dee Ford (No. 23) of the 2014 draft. In the last two drafts, 12 Auburn players have been drafted, the most in a two- year span in the common draft era. Malzahn has coached 13 All-Amer- icans as head coach at Auburn: RB Tre Mason (2013), RS Chris Davis (2013), OT Greg Robinson (2013), C Reese Dismukes (2013-14), PK Daniel Carlson (2015-16-17), DL Carl Lawson (2016), DL Montravius Adams (2016), OL Alex Kozan (2016), OL Braden Smith (2016- 17), DB Carlton Davis (2017), DL Jeff Holland (2017), RB Kerryon Johnson (2017) and DL Derrick Brown (2019). Brown won the Lott IMPACT Trophy last season, Dismukes was named the 2014 Rimington Award winner as the nation’s top center and Carlson was a three-time Lou Groza Award finalist. The Tigers have faced the nation’s most difficult schedule collectively during Malzahn’s seven years on The Plains facing 34 ranked opponents, including 18 in the top 10. Auburn was the nation’s only program in 2016 to face both the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked programs and in 2017 it faced three of the four CFP Semifinalists a total of four times, earning two wins. Malzahn and his coaching staff have been highly successful on the recruiting trail, recording five consecutive Top 10 nationally ranked recruiting classes, a first in the program’s history. Six of his eight recruiting classes have been in the Top 11 nationally. Academically, Malzahn’s Tigers have excelled as nearly 200 players have graduated since his arrival. Malzahn, who won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach in 2010 while helping the Tigers to the national title, returned to Auburn after serving as the head coach at Arkansas State in 2012, where he led the program to the Sun Belt Conference title. As offensive coordinator, Malzahn made an immediate impact during his tenure at Auburn, highlighted by a record-setting offense in 2010 when the Tigers finished 14-0 and claimed the school’s first national title since 1957. Malzahn’s arrival in 2009 and style of offense marked a drastic turnaround from the 2008 season when Auburn struggled offensively. In a two-year pe- riod, the Tigers improved from a tie for 110th to seventh in the nation in scoring offense (from 17.3 to 41.2) and from 104th to seventh in total offense. The 2010 Auburn offense set nine school records, while leading the SEC and finished in the top 10 nationally in six statistical categories. He coached Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton, who had one of the best single-season performances at the position in college football history. Newton threw for 2,908 yards and 30 touchdowns, while rushing for 1,586 yards and 20 TDs. Newton, the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, also won the Davey O’Brien, Manning and Maxwell Award. During two seasons (2007-08) at Tulsa, Malzahn’s offenses were among the nation’s finest, ranking first na- tionally in total offense. Tulsa’s offense in 2007 established nine team and 12 individual school records; the 2008 Tulsa offense averaged 569.9 yards per game and was second nationally aver- aging 47.2 points per games. Malzahn spent one season at Arkansas as of- fensive coordinator, coaching Heisman Trophy runner-up Darren McFadden and helping the SEC West champion Razorbacks finish fourth nationally in rushing offense. Malzahn’s coaching career began in his home state of Arkansas at the high school level. In 14 seasons as a high school head coach, Malzahn led seven teams to the state championship game and won three titles. In July 2013, he was inducted into the Arkansas High School Sports Hall of Fame. Born in Irving, Texas, Malzahn gradu- ated from high school in Fort Smith, Ark., and played football at Arkansas and Henderson State, earning his bachelor’s degree from Henderson in 1990. Malzahn is married to the former Kristi Otwell and they are the parents of two daughters, Kylie (Collin) Peek and Kenzie (Charl) Stander. The Malzahns have two grandsons, Anderson James Peek (March, 2018) and Arthur Elliott Peak (December, 2019). A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M MALZAHN AT A GLANCE Personal Born: Oct. 28, 1965 Hometown: Ft. Smith, Ark. Wife: Kristi (Otwell) Children: daughters: Kylie, Kenzie Grandchildren: Anderson and Arthur College: Henderson State (B.A. 1990) Playing Experience: Arkansas (1984-85) Henderson State (1988-89) Coaching Experience 2013-current: Auburn Head Coach 2012: Arkansas State Head Coach 2009-11: Auburn Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks Coach 2007-08: Tulsa Assistant Head Coach/ Co-Offensive Coordinator 2006: Arkansas Offensive Coordinator 2001-05: Springdale High School (Ark.) Head Coach 1996-00: Shiloh Christian High School (Ark.) Head Coach 1992-95: Hughes High School (Ark.) Head Coach Bowl Experience Coach: 2020 Outback Bowl 2019 Music City Bowl 2018 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl 2017 Allstate Sugar Bowl 2015 Birmingham Bowl 2014 BCS National Championship 2011 Chick-fil-A Bowl 2011 BCS National Championship 2010 Outback Bowl 2008 GMAC Bowl 2007 Capital One Bowl Player: 1985 Holiday Bowl 1984 Liberty BowlNext >