Auburn looks to bright future in 2019
The present may be a disappointment, but Auburn coach Gus Malzahn sees a bright future for his Tigers, who play their home finale Saturday against Liberty.
“The youth that we have on offense — that’s real exciting,” he said. “Defensively, we’ve recruited well and I feel strong we’re going to be really good on defense next year.
“Our special teams, that’s the one area that’s really greatly improved this year, and we have our kicker back and obviously one of the best punters in college football.
“So there’s a whole lot of positives once we get to next year. But obviously, we’ve got three games left and that’s what I’m really focused on right now.”
After the Flames (4-5), who are in a transition year to the FBS level, the Tigers (6-4) finish the regular season at undefeated Alabama in the Iron Bowl and then will have a bowl date somewhere.
Auburn loses seniors like H-back Chandler Cox, tight end Tucker Brown, and wide receiver Ryan Davis on offense and could lose quarterback Jarrett Stidham if the junior decides to pass up his senior season to enter the NFL draft.
But a young receiving corps that features speedster Anthony Swartz (15 catches, 393 yards), Seth Williams (19-370), Darius Slayton (30-447 and Sal Cannella (10-73) and leading rusher JaTarvious Whitlow (668 yards rushing) plus five returning starters up front show promise for the offense in 2019.
“No matter who our quarterback, we’re going to be better on offense,” Malzahn said, “and I’m very confident that we’ll be really good on offense next year.”
The Flames could offer an opportunity for the Tigers to audition some of their young talent, but Malzahn is taking nothing for granted.
“A very solid team, a team that beat a very good Troy team earlier in the year,” Malzahn said. “Very dynamic on offense, and they do a very good job defensively. You can tell they’re well coached.
“And, of course, Turner Gill is a very good coach with his staff. It’ll be a challenge as far as that’s concerned.”
In addition to the win over Troy, the Flames also have a win over the same Old Dominion team that upset Virginia Tech earlier this season. They are averaging 34.9 points per game but surrendering 39 a game to opponents and have lost back-to-back games on the road to UMass and Virginia.
