Gus speaks to Montgomery Auburn Club

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QB1:

“Jarrett Stidham is a very focused young man,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said, speaking before an AMBUSH event in Montgomery on Wednesday. “There were high expectations last year with everything. I know he’ll do everything in his power to help us take that next step as a program.

“There’s nothing better than experience in our league, and he has a full year under his belt, played against the best defenses in college football and played well. So I think he’s in a good spot. He’s going to be very driven. And he’s a team-first guy, anyway.”

“You’ve got to have your leaders in the summer,” Malzahn said. “He’s one of our team leaders. For him to be able to do everything, I think is very big. The coaches can only be with them two hours a week with football-related things, and the rest of the time, it’s your leaders.

“The fact that he has a year under his belt, he’s one of our team leaders, and to be ready in the summer, I think that’s going to be really big for us.”

Injuries:

Malzahn said Wednesday that he believes defensive back Jeremiah Dinson (shoulder), defensive lineman Daquan Newkirk (Achilles) and center Nick Brahms (leg) could all return in time to participate in fall camp, which is only three months away.

Fellow center Kaleb Kim is expected back even sooner and will likely participate in weights and conditioning this summer.

The two question marks remain at wide receiver with Eli Stove and Will Hastings. Both suffered torn ACLs during spring practice, and while the coaching staff is hopeful to get them back during the season, it’s too early to predict when either will return.

“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Malzahn said. “Once we get to July, we’ll know a little bit more with those two guys. The great thing about it is both of them have positive attitudes.”

VIA
 

Scholarship Numbers:

On paper, Auburn's 85 scholarships are accounted for, but Gus Malzahn said "some flexibility" remains even though he does not expect anyone to leave the program this offseason.

Auburn signed 24 players to its 2018 recruiting class, not including Driscoll, and the cap is 25, but Malzahn would not confirm or deny if Auburn has one more spot due to a player counting towards the 2017 class.

"I'm not going to get into details about ins and outs," Malzahn said before the first stop in his Ambush speaking tour in Montgomery on Wednesday. "But we do have some flexibility left with some numbers out there."

Attrition:

Though Auburn has had at least one transfer each offseason during his tenure, Malzahn said he does not expect any departures.

"You never know what happens, but I really don't," Malzahn said. "I think we have a pretty secure team and I think a pretty close team, and everybody is kind of going in the same direction."

VIA
 

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11 minutes ago, RunInRed said:

 

Coach looking slimmer in this photo haha