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Auburn Interim HC DJ Durkin - Alabama Loss · The Auburn Undercover Podcast

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  Uh yeah, obviously just um
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  disappointing. Disappointing. I I feel
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  like our guys prepared really well for
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  this game. Um we had chances to win the
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  game and uh you know, you can't turn the
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  ball over in games like this and expect
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  to win and we didn't create turnovers on
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  defense. So, you know, there were some
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  critical penalties in the game that hurt
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  us and obviously the turnovers hurt us.
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  Um, I mean, you know, you look at it and
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  you say, um, I we outgained him 411 to
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  280 and held him 222 yards passing. If
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  you send somebody going in the game,
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  that's what was going to happen. I I
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  tell you, we won the game. But again,
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  turnovers are are the most telling stat
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  um that pertain to wins and losses.
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  Obviously, we started in a hole in this
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  game. I don't think we we started very
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  well. We had a drive on defense early in
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  the game. We were we just were really
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  discombobulated. Um, when they scored a
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  touchdown, they made it made it 170. And
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  other than that, I thought I thought we
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  played really well defensively. I
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  thought offense um you know, we started
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  slow, but we picked it up, like I said,
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  and and really did a good job moving the
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  ball the rest of the game and
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  outgainained them. And but again, it was
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  just it was it was critical turnovers
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  that that I think um you know, I guess
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  are the story of the game. Um there
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  there's there's a room full of guys in
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  there really hurting. Those guys put on
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  the line for each other and in a moment
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  where that's it's not an easy thing to
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  do. Um, and I think it says a lot about
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  the character of of of the men in that
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  room and uh, you know, with that
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  questions
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  >> for Mike, Jason, and Jerry.
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  >> Coach, as you mentioned, you outgain
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  them uh, over about 280, but the slow
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  start offensively kind of really
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  hampered you guys now, you know, really
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  got that whole. Can you talk to us about
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  that slow start offensively?
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  >> Yeah, it did. We just, you know, it was
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  um several three and outs to start the
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  game and our defense was on the field
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  quite a bit and I think the drive I was
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  talking about, you know, you could tell
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  we we we just we were discombobulated.
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  We we had a substitution error. We had
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  just it was just not did not look like
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  us. I really think other than that drive
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  um you know, it didn't happen. But we
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  played 30 I think 30 some snaps in the
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  first quarter, you know, which is a lot.
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  So um you know, yeah, we just we we
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  started slow. You know, credit to our
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  guys. they they they hung together and
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  kept going and and we we you know we
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  made some adjustments and and started
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  attacking them a different way. We were
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  just sloppy with the ball. There's too
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  many drops and there was uh you know too
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  many turnovers.
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  >> That was my question. Like what do you
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  attribute I mean probably
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  [clears throat] close to 10 drops
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  obviously the fumbles. I mean that was a
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  very sloppy game. What do you attribute
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  that to? Anything you can point to?
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  >> Yeah, I I know. I I I don't know. I mean
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  those are those are guys that usually
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  make those catches and um I I don't
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  know. I don't know. I I I those guys
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  were fighting like crazy. I think you
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  know sometimes you you strain so hard
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  that you know little things that routine
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  things like that you you don't execute
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  on but I don't have a great answer.
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  >> DJ I know that you like your defense
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  play aggressive but seven penalties on
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  defense some really costly ones that you
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  know on third down stops potentially
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  anything to attribute those two.
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  >> Yeah I'm have to go back and look at I
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  know some of those were close plays. I
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  mean the the PI on Sly I don't know. I
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  have to go back and look at them. I I
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  our guys they were they were competing
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  playing aggressive. We're never going to
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  change that or stop that. We're always
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  going to be the ones swinging and if if
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  stuff happens, it happens. But, um, you
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  know, there there's a lot of great third
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  down stops, too. And, you know, the the
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  the one on Xavier, the the roughing, the
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  quarterback, he looked low. I thought he
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  got blocked into him, but again, I I go
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  back and watch that. I I don't know
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  exactly how that was.
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  >> Coach and John
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  on Alabama second.
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  What kind of play?
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  >> Yeah, that's they
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  Kiron went down um with an injury. We
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  called timeout. He went back on the
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  field on that play with we we called the
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  timeout. So, we thought he was able to
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  go back on the field and they told us he
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  couldn't and we didn't get the the sub
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  in for him. So, it was one of those
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  deals where they pulled him off and and
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  he didn't say to anyone and and they
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  didn't say to anyone else either. So,
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  yeah, we had 10 on the field. You know,
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  just crazy that that drive itself there
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  was there was probably more mental
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  mistakes on that whatever how many plays
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  that drive was, I think, than the rest
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  of the game on defense.
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  John DJ Cam's probably the best player
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  on this team. Fumbles at the end there.
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  Just what did you tell him in the locker
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  room post game? How were you able to
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  pick him up post?
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  >> Yeah, I just told him told him I love
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  him and keep his head up. Cam Cam's a
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  great player. Done done a lot of great
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  things for the for this program.
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  Obviously in that moment he was fighting
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  trying to get yards and and you know it
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  happened. We got to be better with our
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  ball security for sure. But um you know
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  it's nothing for Cam to hang his head
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  about. And Cam is a great great player
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  and even better person
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  else
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  coming to an end
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  with John.
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  >> Yeah, it it I I don't know. It's really
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  about the players and I I mean these
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  guys worked really hard. they they put
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  in the right amount of work to go win a
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  game and and obviously we we didn't
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  execute you won't have to do that but it
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  it's about them it's about about those
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  guys and the team and you know all that
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  other stuff will sort itself out
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  >> I got two for you quick ones DJ what you
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  think about me Simmons the job he did
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  tonight and then what did you see on
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  Alabama's fourth down final point
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  >> yeah
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  it was two fourth downs on that drive we
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  we had him stopped on fourth down and I
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  mean I don't know it looked So he missed
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  four tackles, maybe five on on one play.
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  I mean, just
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  crazy. And then the the fourth down on
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  the goal line, you know,
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  we had that route cover. We lost we lost
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  our eyes on it. We we had to cover and
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  um you know, credit credit to them.
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  Their quarterback made a good play, good
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  throw. And um obviously it was a crit
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  they were both on the same drive and it
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  was just a critical drive in the game
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  where it was like two fourth down
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  conversions. It was penalties. It was it
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  was just one of those deals where, you
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  know, just break your back.
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  >> Malcolm,
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  >> I mean, Malcolm was phenomenal. Again,
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  Malcolm Malcolm is a a great player. Um,
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  you know, can do a lot of things. He's
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  very versatile and and I thought he
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  played really well tonight and and he's
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  made big plays for us.
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  >> Back over here to
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  >> DJ, you mentioned the fight your guys
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  tonight. If you can just talk about how
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  the second half started, how you guys
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  were able to kind of put yourself back
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  into a position to win the game. Yeah, I
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  mean I again coming out the locker room
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  I
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  coming in the locker room at halftime
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  there was no panic there was no it was
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  everyone was just kind of like all right
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  matter of fact here's what we did well
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  here's what we didn't do well here's we
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  got to correct let's go out there and do
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  it and and I I thought our guys did a
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  great job but we were right where we
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  wanted to be even with that long drive
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  defensively we're driving to go score
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  and to go win the game and and I fully
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  believe that's what we're about to do
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  and I think our our whole team did you
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  know it's just but we we obviously then
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  turned the ball over and you know we we
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  you're inside the red zone when that
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  happened and you know it just it just it
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  crushes you you know Mike
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  >> despite the record at the end of the
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  season this team faced a lot of
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  adversity and continued to fight for
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  each other for the good staff of the
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  program when you look back on the season
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  as a whole would you say about this
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  group of guys that you have in the
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  locker room
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  >> yeah I mean
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  it's it's a special group of guys and
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  I'll start with with Kendrick Faulk
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  because I I mean he he is our team
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  leader And you know, you look at man
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  locker right now. I mean,
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  you know, he looks awful and and it is
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  no reflection on him. He's one of the
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  best leaders I've been around in my
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  entire career. Um, these guys held it
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  together again when when it was not easy
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  to do that. And, you know, I have great
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  answers because it's been it's been
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  different things at different times, but
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  you see a team that fought for each
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  other all the way till the very end when
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  that wouldn't wasn't easy. and you know
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  most teams wouldn't and in a day and age
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  where that's not really something that
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  that happens all the time. So complete
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  credit to to our guys and their
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  leadership.
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  >> Coach, uh you guys put a lot of faith in
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  Ash Daniels. You went the extra step to
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  preserve [snorts] his red shirt. Can you
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  talk about his performance tonight
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  bounce back to get you guys back off?
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  >> Yeah, I thought I thought Ash performed
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  really well. He did good uh both with
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  his legs and his arm. He he had some key
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  conversions throwing the ball and
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  running it. You know, he had some good
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  numbers even with all the drops. I mean,
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  there was, you know, like we talked
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  about earlier, several drops in the
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  game. So, I think Ashton is a really
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  good player. He's a really good leader.
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  Um, you know, and I think his teammates,
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  you see how other guys respond and play
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  play around him for him.
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  >> Go for the last one.
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  >> DJ, you guys running back production, it
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  seemed like it was tough for you to get
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  get a ground game going with those guys.
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  How how much do you think that kind of
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  an impact with the offense, you know,
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  getting off that slow start and kind of
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  piling up possession.
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  >> Yeah, I think early on it was we we had
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  to adjust and kind of um change some
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  things in how in our plan, but um you
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  know, we knew it was going to be tough
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  tough running on them. I mean, they do a
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  good job and, you know, some of the
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  quarterback run game, the plus one run
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  game was something we knew we had to go
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  to and and I thought, again, Ashton did
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  a good job with that. And, um, you know,
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  it was a slow start, but all in all, I
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  thought I thought they came back and
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  again, you know, with with the numbers
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  we put up, it it was it really came down
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  to a matter of taking care of the
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  football. You know, it was the turnovers
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  and and the the drops and some critical
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  moments.
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  >> All right. Thank God.