When the UCF social media team released their chart announcing their new coach, he had only one face – that of Gus Malzahn. But in choosing Gus Malzahn, UCF also chose Kristi Malzahn, a woman who had a major impact on Auburn’s program over the eight seasons her husband trained there.
Kristi was the first person Gus thanked at his opening press conference as the new UCF coach. She also met with the players as soon as they arrived, and soon after UCF started sending pictures of the two on Twitter. Although she may not make decisions about the X’s and O’s, she brought light and laughter to the players and families during her time at Auburn. If she plays a similar role at UCF, her presence will be felt throughout the program.
“She is looking forward to being a team mom,” Gus said at his opening press conference.
Kristi only had daughters with her husband, but as the wife of a football coach, she had hundreds and hundreds of “sons”. Throughout Gus’ coaching career, Kristi said he has been very kind and let her get involved with the team. It has become their effort rather than their effort, and it helps them deal with the long, strange hours.
“We do this together,” said Gus.
While Gus is concerned with schemes and strategies, Kristi is concerned with the hearts of the team.
“For me, football takes care of itself,” said Kristi. “But I feel that our calling and our work are really about boys. It really is, the X’s and O’s, yes, I know it’s important. Yes, I know we need to win. But more than that, I know that when I am advocating responsibility, it will be how I will use my time and influence with these children. This is what matters to me. “
Their partnership paid off for them personally, but in Auburn it paid off in the field too, starting with Kristi’s involvement in the recruitment process.
When recruits and their families visited Auburn, they met the Malzahns and saw how the two, with their apparently opposite personalities, complemented each other. Recruiters’ mothers can say a lot about a coach in the way he interacts with his wife and children, Kristi said. Some people can do a show, but Kristi is not one of them. It doesn’t take long to discover it.
“The first thing that comes to mind when you say Kristi is that she is just real,” said Melody Shenker, the mother of Auburn’s tight end John Samuel Shenker. “There is no pomp and circumstance for her. She loves her children. She wants them to do the best. She loves her husband. She is a mother. “
Tonia Britt, the mother of former Auburn linebacker KJ Britt, described her first date as “radiant” because her personalities matched so well. Christy Troxell, mother of striker Austin Troxell, said she felt comfortable from the start because Kristi was always “sweet”. Jennifer Frazier, mother of Brandon Frazier’s tight end, is a sports director and former coach. She has already had a son recruited and has met many wives of great coaches. But Kristi’s personality and ability to connect with people stood out.
“I quickly realized that she had a great relationship with all the kids on the team,” said Frazier.
The players also quickly realized that Kristi would always be real with them. Auburn’s former wide receiver Darius Slayton, who now plays for the New York Giants, recalls that Kristi’s recruitment “speech” took a different direction than most. While others try to convince you of how great you are and how much they need you, Kristi said that they wanted you, but planned to win with or without him.
“I liked her saying that,” said Slayton. “I liked where this was coming from. I liked that energy. “
For Slayton, who left Georgia the night before the signing day, Kristi was not a deciding factor, but she “certainly didn’t hurt Auburn’s chances”. And for mothers, when it comes to choosing a school that you are comfortable leaving your child in, knowing that there is someone like Kristi is a great comfort.
Kristi never seemed to be a surrogate mother or a surrogate mother, but she is more like a second mother on the ground. If a mother needs her, they know how to contact her.
“She gave me her cell phone number,” said Troxell. “She said, ‘If you have any questions or if you think Austin just needs a mother’s hug, call me and I’ll make it happen.’ “
After the players committed, Kristi tried to prepare the mothers for what to expect. It is usually the first time for players away from home, which can be just as stressful for mothers as for children. At first, they are ready to flee. But after a few weeks, they are ready for a home-cooked meal and some help with clothing.
While the players were at Auburn, Kristi kept an eye on them. She checked her social networks, followed their love lives and learned more about her dreams. Although they sometimes complained about their inquisition about the girls in their lives, they clearly appreciated it, said Frazier. In his visits to Auburn, it always seemed that the players really wanted to talk to her and go out with her.
Perhaps it is selfishness, said Kristi, that she wants it to be personal and really know who the children are, but it also has an impact on the field and in the stands. Although Kristi spent a lot of time with the recruits, the team’s parents liked it when she went to the parenting section for the games. She’s a joke, Brigette Brahms, mother of Nick Brahms central, said. She plays, shares stories about her children and grandchildren and is just “her happy self”. It really helped to create the feeling that the Auburn program was a big family.
“The more we love them, the more they will respond and absorb what you are saying to them, listen to you and know that you really care,” said Kristi.
She loves hearing stories like how ex-wide receiver Sal Cannella wanted to start a fashion line and how Nick Brahms and kicker Anders Carlson wanted to be pilots. She makes sure that Gus knows these things too. After the players leave the program, she still follows them and enjoys their successes.
For players, who spend time with their teammates and coaches and “men, men, men, men, men”, time with Kristi is a “breath of fresh air”, “a feminine presence” and “a positive light “, Slayton said. He always knew that when she asked about her life, she genuinely wanted to know why she is “always authentic”. Even now that he graduated, he still knows that she cares.
“I went back to the Georgia game last year and saw it, and it was a lot of fun,” said Slayton. “She jokingly said that I was going to make her cry. But that’s just me thinking that maybe it’s more special than I am. But the relationship is still there and will always be there. “
Occasionally, Kristi is called to be more than a cheerleader. Shenker said she was very impressed by the impact Kristi had on the players who dealt with the tragedy. But whether the bond forged in adversity or simply extending to a hug and a provocative question about a recent Instagram story involving a girl, Kristi is there for her “kids” now and as long as they need her, even after their careers in Auburn. repeatedly and even after she and her husband became Knights instead of Tigers.
“I want them to know and be able to look back and say, ‘She’s still a’ mom ‘to me,” said Kristi. “I think now they may not see that there is any benefit to it, but I hope that someday something they have heard or said or just knowing that someone cares makes a difference and makes a difference.”
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