Part VI of our ongoing series, Better Know an Auburn Assistant Coach. Tight ends coach and special teams coordinator Jay Boulware.I'll spare you the preamble and get straight to the bullet points ...
- Boulware followed Gene Chizik to Auburn from Iowa State, but he was in limbo for a few weeks: "That’s the life of a coach," Boulware said. "This is a business first and foremost. What Coach Chizik had to do was take his time and do what’s best for
- On the coaching staff Chizik assembled: "This is the best staff I've ever been on, including when I was a GA at Texas."
- Chizik hired Boulware away from Utah. They met the day of the Super Bowl to talk, hoping to get it done beforehand. Instead, they talked for 10 to 12 hours. "It was the best interview I ever had," Boulware said. "I saw no parts of the Super Bowl. The only thing I saw was (Tony) Dungy and Lovie Smith walking across the field about to shake each other’s hand and the confetti was coming down. I didn’t even know who won. I didn’t even know who won. I just looked for a second to see who was smiling and who was frowning."
- What did they talk about for 12 hours? "Ball, baby. Ball. Every single aspect. When he met me, he told me -- it’s kind of funny, he probably won’t admit this -- he said 'I got three guys I’m looking at, and you’re one of the three, and when we get done here, I’m going to interview the other two guys.’ Well, before I got on the plane, he offered me the job. So, that was pretty good feeling to know that I at least said enough to him that he respected me enough prior to leaving."
- Boulware said despite Chizik's 5-19 record at Iowa State, the Cyclones were making progress. He cited the fact that they had 33 freshmen and sophomores on the two-deep. "Which is unheard of in the Big 12," he said. "I definitely believe we were making progress. I believe we got better. I think if you ask the majority of people, they saw a quicker, faster football team in our second year. We were just really young. Any time you start nine or 10 true freshman, you’re in trouble. You’re in trouble, so you better strap it up. They say you lose two games for every true freshman that you start and we didn’t have 18 games to play."
- Boulware claims Iowa State was a lot closer to winning some games last season than its record indicates (honestly, I know next to nothing about Iowa State football, so I can't really contend his point). He even said the Cyclones could have easily had five wins if certain things had gone their way late in games. "You know, one more in there, which is very doable in the Big 12, and now you’re bowling and now he’s a hero and now you guys aren’t having conversation, and you’re looking at me like ‘OK, I know why you came here. I know why Gene’s here.’ You know, that wouldn’t even be said. Football’s a game of momentum and anytime you get it on your side, there’s no telling what ends up happening. Obviously, if you don’t have it, you’ve got to roll your sleeves up and dig your way out of it, and that’s what that football team did the entire season. They just kept fighting. Even though we weren’t winning games, they were still fighting."
- On Chizik's reaction to losing games last year: "Obviously, he didn't like the fact that we were losing games, so he had to find solutions to it. But he was awesome. He was an awesome guy to work for. He never changed. He stayed true to what he believed in. It's hard to keep guys playing hard when you're losing 10 games in a row. ... He kept those guys playing really hard and I thought he did a phenomenal job."
- Boulware was impressed with Auburn's special teams from last year, despite a shaky season from place-kicker Wes Byrum. The Tigers were at or near the top of the conference rankings in punting, punt return and kick return. "And a lot of people don't realize that, because too often times, the media and maybe even fans, you judge how the special teams were based on what you saw the kicker do."
- More on that subject: "Everybody keeps saying, 'We weren't very good on special teams.' I've heard it over and over and over again. To me, when I hear that, I say, you're wrong. You had a punt returner that took to the house, you had a kickoff return that took two to the house. The only area I felt like was deficient on this football team in that regards was your kickoff coverage unit."
- Boulware sounded excited about incoming freshman Philip Lutzenkirchen, one of Auburn's top recruits: "Phenomenal athlete. Phenomenal athlete. Tremendous hands. We plan on Philip being a big part of what we’re doing next season. I think Philip is exactly what we’re looking for and I look forward to coaching him. I like his attitude. I like his demeanor. I like everything about the kid right now."
- Boulware likes what he sees athletically out of Gabe McKenzie, who returned to tight end from defensive end near the end of last year. How much he'll be used is a matter of how much of the offense McKenzie can "absorb," though. "We'll just have to see where he ends up," Boulware said. "Gosh darn, he's a good-looking young kid, though."
- Tommy Trott, who had surgery to repair his ACL in November, is not going to participate in spring drills. "Tommy’s busting his tail right now trying to get himself healthy to come back," Boulware said. "No one’s more teed off, per se, than he is right now because he wants to be out there and he wants to be a part of it. It’s his senior year coming up and he’s looking to have a big year. I don’t think he’ll be able to participate, but I’m not sure. I’m not sure where he’s at right now. He’s not that far removed from that injury that he had."
- You kicking competitors this season: Morgan Hull and Byrum.
- Your punters: Clinton Durst (yes he's back with the team) and Ryan Shoemaker.
1 comment:
Man...he looks happy
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