Auburn Spring Practice Day 1
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn watches his quarterbacks on the first day of spring football practice Tuesday, March 1, 2016, at the Auburn Athletics Complex in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)
Auburn's seniors are tasked every year with developing chemistry, leading workouts and hammering home a motto that defines the season.
Every small step along the way is important. One misstep can derail a season and the details matter. Auburn knows all too well how fast things can change in a few short months in the fall -- from a run to an SEC Championship in 2013 to flirting with a losing record in 2015 -- and it's why the road to redemption in 2016 started before the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve.
The 2016 season began Dec. 31, the day after a 31-10 victory against Memphis in the Liberty Bowl. The rising seniors made sure of it.
"We're not ranked, nobody expects anything from us," senior defensive tackle Montravius Adams said Tuesday, the Tigers' first day of spring practices. "We expect that from ourselves. When we're in the weight room, we earn it. We earn out teammates' respect, our coaches' respect and we want to earn it from everybody with everything we do."
If you haven't figured it out by now, Auburn's motto in 2016 is simple: earn it.
"Earn your teammates' respect, earn your coaches' respect, earn it every day on the field and off the field," fourth-year Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said.
Adams, along with several other seniors, inttilled that phrase in offseason workouts as they introduced nine newcomers into the fold. A 7-6 season didn't settle well here at Auburn, where the Tigers are 2-9 in their last 11 SEC games.
"We weren't happy about it," linebacker Tre' Williams said. "Coaches came in, started workouts and said right then we have to have a chip on our shoulders."
Malzahn calls the vindictive approach "very healthy."
"Last year, we had an inexperienced team and we had some close losses, but these guys, a lot of them are coming back and they're looking forward to getting out there and redeeming themselves and I think that's important moving forward," he continued.
The players are not the only ones motivated by the disappointment last season. The Tigers went from No. 6 nationally to nearly losing to FCS foe Jacksonville State. Jeremy Johnson was deemed the next big thing at quarterback but never panned out, paving the way for redshirt freshman Sean White to be thrown into the fire earlier than expected.
Auburn lost four games by one score. Malzahn believes part of the problem was inexperience on offense and defense.
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"We're all going to eat this year," Williams said. "We're going to try to be a great defense. It starts with everybody."
Whatever the issue, nothing seemed to be in Auburn's favor last season and changes were made after falling short of SEC championship goals. Five assistants, including defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, left Auburn for other jobs and Malzahn opted for familiarity in his off-season hires. He hopes the decision breeds success.
As for that cliche -- the chip on the shoulder -- Malzahn can relate to his players.
"There's no doubt," Malzahn said. "That's why I'm excited to get out there. It's a new year. From a coaching standpoint, especially a head coach's standpoint, you evaluate the things from last year that you need to improve on, and we know what they are and we are going to go out there and redeem ourselves. Me, personally, I'm excited to get on the practice field."