As his future as Auburn’s head football coach continues to grow, Brian Harsin treated Monday to the start of an off week like any other.
Harsin made stops Monday in Birmingham and Mobile, both with key recruits and for two speaking engagements. He spoke at the Birmingham Monday Morning Quarterback Club in the morning (obviously) and then spoke at the Mobile 1st and 10 Club for dinner.
At all the stops, Harsey’s message was the same: He’ll do his best as Auburn’s head coach as long as he has the job. Rumors that he might be fired Sunday after a 48-34 loss at Ole Miss dropped the Tigers to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the SEC.
“That’s one thing I’ve learned in training — you focus on the task at hand,” Harsin said before appearing on Mobile. “You focus on what’s in front of you. I’ve had years where I’m undefeated and people think you’re so bad, you’re not winning enough and you can’t control any of those things. You can control how you perform every day. And for me that’s the best model I’ve learned is your daily performance.
“… If you start to really see what’s important, you try to focus on that. It’s really a day-to-day thing. And for me, that’s something I’ve come to accept over time. It really helped me and it’s something I preach to our players and coaches: All you can do is control what’s in front of you. And that is what we are doing. … Let’s focus on being here and making this the best we can be and make the most of our time in Mobile and throughout the state of Alabama.
Harsin was a late replacement for associate head coach Zach Etheridge at the Mobile stoppage, as scheduled for the 1st-and-10 club Friday morning. But later that afternoon, club officials announced that Harsey would be appearing at Moe’s Original BBQ in downtown Mobile instead of Etheridge.
Harsin said the schedule change was just to give him another chance to speak directly to Auburn fans. And since it was going to be in a recruiting town anyway, it was an easy switch to make.
“Coach Etheridge is fantastic and a great ambassador for our program and for that,” Harsin said. But we won’t practice until (Tuesday). We have practice on Tuesday and Wednesday and then guys are going to have Thursday, Friday and Saturday off. We will be back on Sunday. So that was the idea behind me taking this opportunity to get out there as much as I could, to come here and give this talk and be a part of it and take advantage of the opportunity.
Auburn’s 2023 recruiting class ranks near the bottom of the SEC, though the Tigers picked up some momentum with the addition of four-star Florida high school offensive lineman Clay Weedy on Friday. Three Auburn commits – Montgomery Catholic running back Jeremiah Cobb, Auburn senior offensive lineman Bradyn Joiner and Loachapoka defensive end JC Hart – have been named to the Alabama team for the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic on Monday, Dec. 10 in Mobile.
Harsin visited three Mobile area high schools on Monday, making stops at Mobile Christian, Saraland and Vigor. He said the in-person visits are to build trust with potential recruits.
“These guys are focused on their growth,” Harsin said. “They are focused on their season. They have other things to worry about and they listen to our coaches when they talk to them. I think that’s the biggest thing. They trust our coaches. They have a relationship with them. They all see what we do because they get a chance to talk a little bit with our staff. So you know where we are, what we’re struggling with, what we’ve done well, how you fit in.
“And at the end of the day, I think every player knows, ‘Look, I want to go where I’m comfortable. I really want to go somewhere that will be beneficial to me and that I want to be a part of for many years. And they want confident men to know they can step in and make a difference. …and we have very good players who can do that.
Auburn next plays at home against Arkansas on Oct. 29, a game that will begin Monday at 11 a.m. on the SEC Network.
