Auburn Football Kevin Steele Post-Clemson Game Press Conference Recap

Kevin Steele had a lot to say in the first press conference of the actual football season for him. He, thankfully, had a great defensive performance to talk about.

I love his attitude on the performance. Yes, they held Clemson to 19 points, but it was still a loss and they always want to improve and get the win. And that was an amazing performance. I'm looking back on it and thinking that for the first time in a few years, I don't recall screaming about tackling or how the defense let a player get so wide open. That was as fundamentally sound of a performance as I can remember.

Unfortunately, there were some killer moments like the penalties on 3rd down. I think each time Clemson had a drive extended on a penalty, they ended up with points. It's hard to defend ever pass play and Watson was killer on the back shoulder throws, but those were the only real misses. Otherwise, I'm thrilled with what the defense did. Sure, maybe Clemson's offense isn't as good this year (I don't believe that), but the defense's fundamentals in limiting them are what thrills me.

Auburn played 11 defensive linemen against Clemson. That's most all of them on the team depending on which players they're counting as linemen or not (Paul James probably fits here, Jeff Holland probably not).

I'm not surprised he won't say about Stephen Roberts' status. I'm honestly surprised he even mentioned that Malzahn has decided on Roberts' status rather than just deferring to Gus. I guess we'll (maybe) find out tomorrow. I'm guessing that's the only game he misses, but that's just me.

Now to the Tweets!

Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele: 'We asked them to play with great effort… it became a habit… I think it showed up in the game.'

— Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) September 5, 2016

Auburn DC Kevin Steele: "Every play has a life of its own. We asked them to keep playing to the next play."

— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) September 5, 2016

Auburn DC Kevin Steele: 19 points is a good number, but "a loss is a loss in this business, there's no way around it"

— WarEagleExtra (@wareagleextra) September 5, 2016

Kevin Steele: "We're going to work very hard to build on the positives of the game."

— Sam Butler (@_sam_butler) September 5, 2016

Coach Kevin Steele said the defense played well, but not something they'll accept because of the loss

— Jason Caldwell (@ITATJason) September 5, 2016

One positive: "We didn't get the top knocked off of the coverage, there weren't any explosive, long plays."

— Sam Butler (@_sam_butler) September 5, 2016

Auburn DC Kevin Steele: "We've got to eliminate those 3rd-down penalties. We had a 65 percent success rate on 3rd down. Our goal is 70."

— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) September 5, 2016

Auburn DC Kevin Steele: Things that jumps out, pair of pass interference on third downs, & backside shoulder throws that Watson hit

— WarEagleExtra (@wareagleextra) September 5, 2016

Steele: "We didn't have a lot of critical errors. As a whole, we feel like we have a good starting point." #MGMAuburn

— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) September 5, 2016

Auburn DC Kevin Steele: Marlon Davidson had winning grade, did well for a rookie

— WarEagleExtra (@wareagleextra) September 6, 2016

Kevin Steele on his first year at Auburn and his coaches: 'This has been an incredibly joyous experience. We've created a bond.'

— Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) September 6, 2016

Auburn DC Kevin Steele throwing out some baseball metaphors explaining approach to blitzing Deshaun Watson, bottom line wanted to mix it up

— WarEagleExtra (@wareagleextra) September 6, 2016

Steele on Auburn LBs who were 'outstanding': "They're real instinctive players. They don't just go out and play. That really helps them."

— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) September 6, 2016

Auburn DC Kevin Steele on blitzing seven on Clemson's last touchdown: "I'm not going to call games scared. I'm not going to say what if."

— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) September 6, 2016

Steele: Freshman DT Derrick Brown (@DerrickBrownAU5) is "a man, a real powerful man. "

— Sam Butler (@_sam_butler) September 6, 2016

Auburn DC Kevin Steele: Josh Holsey is a "pro" coach on the field, has ice water in his veins

— WarEagleExtra (@wareagleextra) September 6, 2016

Steele said Auburn played 11 defensive lineman Saturday night. #MGMAuburn

— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) September 6, 2016

Steele on TJ Neal's comments: "At 57 years old, with social media I don't normally grasp all that. We've talked about how to handle that."

— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) September 6, 2016

Steele on Marshall Taylor: "That's a work in progress." #MGMAuburn

— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) September 6, 2016

Auburn DC Kevin Steele: Knows if team will get Stephen Roberts back this week, but is going to let Gus Malzahn answer that question Tuesday

— WarEagleExtra (@wareagleextra) September 6, 2016

Auburn DC Kevin Steele: "I'm never going to comment on the offense"

— WarEagleExtra (@wareagleextra) September 6, 2016