Always a dandy.
LIST OF AFFILIATES AND LINKS
PREDICTION: Lots of nice things to be said about the Aggies and their "exciting" home environment, no comment on Jimbo's totally congenial personality. He's not fake at all. No, really.
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JOHNNIE HARRIS, Auburn's new women's basketball coach, is up first.
**EDITOR'S NOTE: Friggin' FIRED UP to learn that Sir Brit Bowen is doing women's hoops. I love that guy. Absolute stud.
Williams: "I feel really good about where we are as far as getting to know each other. I feel good about where we're going from here."
Williams on her leaders: "We looked at who those younger players were looking up and ... and who was bought into (what they're doing). The other part was players who needed to become leaders. It's about bringing along the players you need to be there."
She says Kiyae White has been stepping up as a leader of late.
On Romi Levy being out with an ACL injury (happened at practice Sunday): "She's probably the harest-working kid we have. It's hard to see that happen to her. I have no doubt that she'll come back stronger than ever."
Williams says Aicha Coulibaly will have to step up in Levy's absence.
Sounds like Mar'shaun Bostic (freshman) will be playing a lot at guard.
"We're definitely going to be tough. Probably because of our numbers, we'll be a tough, half-court, defensive team. Offensively, we'll still look to play fast. We love to score off our defense."
COMMERICAL BREAK
ERIC KIESAU, the new wideouts coach, is up next.
Andy asks about Kiesau's transition to the job. "It was definitely a different situation. The guys in the room ... I've been in there helping out. When the transition happening, it was earlier because I was a familiar face, a familiar voice."
Not Andy asks about jumping into that job during a game week. "They've done a great job and responded really well."
Andy asks how they made the wideouts better lately. "It's just ... you build on what you have. (the UGA game) was not a very good performance. We worked on it, did some extra drills. Once they had some success, we grow on that. You catch the football."
Not Andy notes that several wideouts are good, but there isn't a No. 1 guy per se. "The past couple games, we have 8 or 9 receivers catch balls. It's hard to defend when everybody is involved in the game play. It's a philosophical thing on offense about how we distribute the ball."
Andy asks about Landen King. "He's such a great kid and fits in everywhere."
Andy wants more: "Typically when you have one or two receivers to get all the balls (thrown to them) ... Landen has a small piece (of the pie) and that keeps him interested. They all have a piece of the pie."
Andy still wants to hit on this "everybody plays" concept, like he's never heard of this. "It's really based on what the defense gives you. It's a combination if us game-planning ... and it's part of how the defense defends you."
Not Andy ask about how Kiesau got up with Harsin. Kiesau was in private enterprise. He got a call from a young Chris Petersen, who offered him a recruiting job at Oregon. "From there, it all kinda steamrolled."
(KIESAU sounds like a really cool dude, to be honest. Looking forward to hanging with him a bit after COVID.)
COMMERCIAL BREAK
ZAKOBY MCCLAIN is next up.
Andy asks about playing on the road. "It's just gets you pumped ... to go knock them out."
Not Andy asks about how Zakoby flips the proverbial switch. "When I cross the (chalk) line, that's when it really comes out, the animal."
On why he doesn't want to come out of games: "If I'm not out there, I won't get that fumble out. I won't get my big hit. I want mine. I'm very passionate. I love to play."
On the personality of this defense. "Hard=nosed. everyone gets to the ball. At halftime, we adjust to everything (Mason) is going to call."
On getting Wooten back this season. "It hurt me when he left, but he did it for a good reason. He had a baby."
On A&M's run game. "We love teams that run the ball. The only way we're going to stop them is to get in a gap, be gap-sound."
On O-P: "I love seeing him make plays. When he makes a play, he turns up just like me."
On being a leader: "I've got to make sure (teammates) feed off me."
Follow him on Instagram: @zakobymcclain
COMMERCIAL BREAK
BRYAN HARSIN is up next.
Andy asks about how they put the gameplan together. "You look at what the guys execute well. Sometimes it's not looking good, so you take it out. That's painful for some players because that's their play."
Not Andy asks about the playoff rankings. "You do it just to see where they started. After that, it's just a matter of getting right back and focusing on your season. In our world, we need to get to work on Texas A&M. That's really it."
Andy wants to talk about the Ole Miss win. The Rebs gave Auburn the ball to open. "It was good. We put a drive together. Bo did a good job on that first drive, got us in the end zone. We're ready for whatever happens."
Julie/Juli in Arizona emails in and asks about odd formations. How do you prepare for the changes that A&M tries to pull on you. "You have to go back to your base rules on fronts and coverages. They're coming up with new ideas. They're going to have that wrinkle in their offense. It comes back to identification on the defensive side. We can also think through how they'll build on what they've already done. That's fun."
COMMERCIAL BREAK
"They do have the ability to go fast. That's really not what they do."
Andy asks about how the AU defense deals with fast offenses. "The thing about tempo os that you can go fast, but a three-and-out goes fast. We've been able to slow them down on first and second down. Ole Miss ... they were trying to set up the fourth-down plays. We knew they would do it. What came up really big in that game is that they came up in the red zone. They didn't get any points."
Not Andy notes that Auburn's first drives have been terrific lately. "It gets the guys excited — even the defensive guys. You know you're ready. When you can go up by seven and you come out on defense, it gives you confidence."
Andy asks about O-P and TD Moultry being back last week. "You get some depth, but you also get some quality depth. Owen and TD, those guys are popular guys on our team. (Teammates) want to see them succeed."
Not Andy asks about finishers. "It's important that ... we play our best football (in the fourth quarter) and that we finish. Our guys take pride in that."
Andy asks about A&M. "Their front seven is strong and they're good in the back end. They're trying to be physical. It's a pretty complete defense. We can't give them anything. The biggest thing ... we've got to execute at a high level and not give them anything."
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Andy asks about the A&M offense. "They run the ball, the quarterback can sling it. He can run it better than you think. They're going to have a plan for whatever they think they can do to beat us. They'll have a theme. They'll build off that as the game goes on. We have to play physical back. Overall defensively — keep building on what we've been doing."
Not Andy asks about A&M being better lately and why. "I think they're executing better. You're building as the season goes on. They've gotten better. They're progressing as the season goes on. We know what we're getting into. We've got to out-execute what they do."
Andy asks about what could happen this season, winning the West? "The one thing about football — it'll humble you. If you don't get better ... then it's just a matter of time. It's right back to our process ... what we do day in and day out. It's about what we're doing right now. The way we practice and they way we prepare is going to show up in that game."
Not Andy asks about Bro-Hamm being cancer-free for FIVE YEARS. Beast. "He doesn't lack any toughness, let me tell you that. He's been through more than any opponent he's faced. When we have him out there, we're better. He's fought really hard to be here. He's just getting started. Life is good."
Harsin finishes with a calm, measured "War Eagle."
BE GOOD. BE YOU.
Make great decisions.
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