See this tag to find links to all coach comments from the April SEC coach conference call.
- Spring practice went well. The team will be more consistent than it was last year. He likes having a clear-cut starting quarterback (Cameron Newton) coming out of spring, unlike last year.
- He expects a big improvement on offense in this the second year in Gus Malzahn's system. The team didn’t play defense as well as should have last year, but it's improving this year. The team is getting better, but there's plenty of room to improve over the summer. Auburn is an "average" team right now, not a "good" team.
- Newton secured the starting quarterback job because he grasped offense very quickly and the coaches like his leadership. He's good at "managing" the team and offense. His completion percentage in practice was very high, and he protected the ball well. His mobility and running game possibilities were a plus.
- He hasn’t decided on the order of the quarterbacks behind Newton, but determining the No. 1 guy at that spot was important for team as a whole. They know who to rally around, not that they wouldn't support one of the other quarterbacks too.
- The Tiger Prowl is not about recruiting; it’s a fund raising event that goes on in the evening. He doesn’t know if it (or any other special events) helped with last year’s recruiting class. Relationships between recruits and coaches are much more important.
- Rising coordinator salaries are a function of "supply and demand." He is glad Auburn is willing to pay good money to his assistant coaches, and he thinks that coordinators deserve the pay bumps.