Dye-Gest: Spring Goals

[aubiefifty 16,695]

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Dye-Gest: Important Spring Football Goals

Mark Murphy

College of Football Hall of Fame coach Pat Dye writes about the Auburn Tigers and spring drills in this edition of his Dye-Gest column.

Gus Malzahn (above) is beginning his fifth season as head coach of the Tigers.

I have always been a strong believer in the importance of spring training for college football teams. The coaches and players have plenty of time to work on fundamentals and assignments, in detail, and teaching the details properly and learning them thoroughly are a big deal.

However, something I believe is even more important to success for a coming season is building the chemistry and work ethic needed to succeed. The better the trust is among teammates, the better the trust among coaches and players, the better the chance there is for everybody pulling together for success on Saturdays.

The more unselfish a group becomes the tighter it gets, and when that happens a football team has a shot at reaching its potential. A team certainly needs to continue to develop in preseason and during the fall, but the foundation for success needs to be built in spring.

Another spring training key is developing depth. As a coach you want to know which guys you can count on to play winning football when games are on the line whether they are starters or backups. A coaching staff that can figure that out while developing quality depth at each position will have made major progress in spring drills.

I also think it is a big deal for quarterbacks to prove themselves this time of year. There is nothing more important to a college football team’s success than taking the field on game days with a quarterback who has strong leadership skills. You want a guy who the entire team believes can get the job done.

With no games to prepare for this time of year it is important as coaches to make sure all of your guys are as committed as they can be to improving every aspect of how they perform. Just going through the motions trying to get through the daily grind is not what you are looking for and I don’t think Auburn fans need to worry about that happening.

From what I?can tell the Tigers are having high-tempo workouts with a lot of moving parts with everybody involved. It is exciting to watch, but like virtually all  teams in the spring there is a long way to go to become outstanding. I do think the parts are there for this group to develop into a successful team. I don’t know if it will be good enough to win an SEC Championship, but I do think all the pieces needed to finish the puzzle are there.

Looking at the 2017 Auburn team, which is into its second week of spring practice, I think the Tigers have players with the ability to put an improved squad on the field this fall, but it needs to be a team-oriented thing. For example, it doesn’t matter if you have a lot of talented receivers running great routes if the offensive line doesn’t protect the quarterback. The same is true if the line does a great job with its pass protection but the receivers aren’t in the right place at the right time and can’t make the catches they need to make.

I was thinking about Coach Gus Malzahn as he prepares for the 2017 season and there are some things that have happened on offense in the last two years he has gotten a lot of criticism for and questions about, but he is the same guy who was instrumental in Auburn winning the national championship in 2010 as offensive coordinator. Three years later in his first season as Auburn’s head coach the Tigers went back to the national championship game with a team that had all of the intangibles needed for success.

It wasn’t the greatest team in the country talent-wise, but his offense was so dynamic it gave the Tigers a chance to bring home the championship trophy. When you think about that game against Florida State, the difference wasn’t on offense or defense. The big issue was giving up too many points in the kicking game in a contest the Tigers lost by four. I don’t see any reason why Coach Malzahn’s team can’t be successful on offense, defense and special teams in the coming season as it looks to blend a lot of experienced players with the newcomers this spring and when when preseason practice begins in August.

[corchjay 5,311]

I'm sure coach Dye probably gets a little change for doing these articles and being a Guest on a radio show or something but I wish he would just be a silent observer.  Love everything he has done for AU but eventually you have to put the old stud out in the pasture to graze.  War Eagle Coach.

[warhogone 103]

With all of his shortcomings, and like the rest of us he has his share, Coach Dye is still a Hall of Fame Coach. A lot have come and a lot have gone and not been selected for the Hall. While I certainly don't want him meddling in the area today, a certain amount of respect is due him, so let him write his articles and offer his opinions on sport talk shows. He has that right and he got it the hard way, he earned it! WDE

[milehighfan 1,239]

1 hour ago, warhogone said:

With all of his shortcomings, and like the rest of us he has his share, Coach Dye is still a Hall of Fame Coach. A lot have come and a lot have gone and not been selected for the Hall. While I certainly don't want him meddling in the area today, a certain amount of respect is due him, so let him write his articles and offer his opinions on sport talk shows. He has that right and he got it the hard way, he earned it! WDE

I agree

[80Tiger 899]

16 hours ago, warhogone said:

With all of his shortcomings, and like the rest of us he has his share, Coach Dye is still a Hall of Fame Coach. A lot have come and a lot have gone and not been selected for the Hall. While I certainly don't want him meddling in the area today, a certain amount of respect is due him, so let him write his articles and offer his opinions on sport talk shows. He has that right and he got it the hard way, he earned it! WDE

Absolutely. Nice insight to what his thoughts are about what spring practice. He has forgotten more about football than the combined knowledge on this board.

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

32 minutes ago, 80Tiger said:

Absolutely. Nice insight to what his thoughts are about what spring practice. He has forgotten more about football than the combined knowledge on this board.

No Doubt

[AuburnNTexas 7,127]

I liked he talked about Chemistry finding depth and defending Gus by saying he is the same man who led us to the National Championship.  I saw it as a positive endorsement on the talent of the players and the skill of the coaches.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

I still feel strongly that Malzahn and Lashlee's play calling killed our chance of beating F$U. We could have and should have put them when we were 21-3. Gus and Rhett took their foot off the gas which allowed F$U back in the game and ended up beating us.

[AUIH1 1,515]

On 3/9/2017 at 5:07 PM, warhogone said:

With all of his shortcomings, and like the rest of us he has his share, Coach Dye is still a Hall of Fame Coach. A lot have come and a lot have gone and not been selected for the Hall. While I certainly don't want him meddling in the area today, a certain amount of respect is due him, so let him write his articles and offer his opinions on sport talk shows. He has that right and he got it the hard way, he earned it! WDE

As long as you understand that Coach Dye is a true Bear Bryant Disciple in EVERY way both on and off of the field and modeled our football program in EVERY way he could while the head football  coach at AU and AD at AU the way Bear ran spuat's football program.

 

wde