Coffee and Magnolia: September 25th

One week removed from the Kansas State win and two days out from homecoming, there's not too many spicy stories or quotes coming out of the Auburn Athletic Complex on this Thursday morning. Nevertheless, here's what I've got for you today.

Gus Malzahn's press conference yesterday was pretty brief and didn't break any news. Gus said he was pleased with the offense's response to their lackluster performance last week, calling the last two days some of the best practices they've had this season.

He also talked on the weekly SEC coaches' teleconference, where he spoke about his confidence in the Tiger offensive line moving forward despite their injuries.

Brandon Marcello looks at Nick Marshall's passing game from last week, focusing on his deep throws and the lack of help he's getting from some usually reliable receivers, namely the still injured Sammie Coates (who Auburn "hopes" is 100% in two days). Marshall was 4-for-10 for 110 yards and a score on throws 15 or more yards downfield against Kansas State.

AL.com also had Matt Scalici and Cole Cubelic look a few of Nick's late throws, which they broke down in a video here.

Back in yesterday's teleconference, Malzahn mentioned having a few problems with the Big 12 officiating crew not being quite as fast as the SEC crews Auburn is used to. He was asked to specify what it was that they had trouble adapting to and said he just thought the SEC crews are usually quicker about placing the ball before and after plays.

Defensive back Josh Holsey garnered a good bit of attention with his out-of-position performance at safety in Manhattan, including winning the SEC's defensive player of the week. He spoke with reporters (as did Jonathan Jones) on Wednesday, talking about the preparation that has to go into being ready whenever called upon. Jay Tate wrote a piece about Holsey and his versatility, which also includes video.

Malzahn again talked about the kicking game last night, saying he's looking to give Alex Kviklys and Australian Matthew Shiel more chances to kickoff/punt in situations that play up their strengths.

In other goings-on around campus, here's some notes on the Auburn soccer and volleyball teams early season runs.

Jeremy Henderson's TWER put up this super-interesting article about people who Jordan-Hare Stadium was almost named after, names like Knapp, Donahue and Petrie.