AUBURN, Alabama – At his first press conference as Auburn’s football coach, Bryan Harsin made it clear that he is eager to test himself and the Auburn team in the toughest division of the toughest conference in college football.
Speaking at an online event on Christmas Eve, the former Arkansas State and Boise State coach seemed eager to show what he can do as a Tigers coach and what he expects from his players.
“You better be the final competitor,” he said. “You better have that mindset and be a guy who embraces this and loves it. I am certainly excited about the challenge. “
Emphasizing that Auburn recently won a national championship (2010) and played for another (2013), Harsin noted that he realizes what he is getting into after accepting Auburn’s job with the Tigers competing in the West Division of the Southeast Conference.
“I understand expectations,” he said. “I understand what it takes to win championships and play consistently, and what it will take to do that. The areas we need to improve on, we will discover them as we go, because we will have the right people here to make sure we do that. “
Harsin said he talked to Auburn players, who are currently at home, via video conference. They are scheduled to return to campus the day after Christmas to start practicing for a New Year’s Day contest against Northwestern at the VRBO Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Harsin said he challenged Auburn’s players to do a good job of preparation under the guidance of the current team, adding that he also had a video chat with the remnants of coach Gus Malzahn’s team, who will prepare the bowl. Harsin also said he would probably be in Orlando to watch the game in person.
Malzahn was fired after the final game of the regular season, a 24-10 win at Mississippi State, which improved the team’s record to 6-4, leaving them in third place at SEC West. Nine days later, on Tuesday, Auburn announced Harsin as his replacement. In one season in Arkansas State and the previous seven in Boise State, his teams recorded a record of 76-24 and went 69-19 in Boise State, while winning the Mountain West Conference championship three times.
“We want to play championships and play consistently,” said Harsin on Thursday at the Auburn athletic complex, after flying Boise early in an AU jet. “The challenge in that, that’s why I’m here. I heard that. It will be a challenge. It’s gonna be hard.
“Isn’t that what you want as a competitor?”, He added. “These are not the things you say to your players every day when you go there and play against that opponent to win your battles one-on-one, to win in this situation here, to win in these moments.
“It will be a challenge. It’s gonna be hard. You say that all the time. That’s what the competitors want, so I heard that, I understand that and it’s part of the reason why this job, and this opportunity at Auburn, was so attractive because of these things. That is exactly the reason why you want to play at Auburn University and exactly why you want to come to a place like this. “
Harsin, who made the trip to Auburn with his wife and school-age son, said he plans to return to Boise to spend Christmas with his family, which includes two daughters.
The Auburn president, who attended the coach’s press conference, praised those involved in the search and said, “We aim high and hit high.”
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