SPORTS

Malzahn feels 'very good' about team discipline

James Crepea
Montgomery Advertiser
Gus Malzahn feels "very good" about Auburn's team discipline off the field.

TAMPA -- In a season that had three off-the-field incidents before the games even began, Auburn entered bowl week with yet another off field distraction in the D'haquille Williams saga, but the growing list of indiscretions in his program does not concern Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.

"If you really look at the last two years we've probably been one of the more disciplined teams off the field as a whole so I feel very good about that," Malzahn said.

Williams has been the main story almost all week for Auburn, first for "running late" – linebacker Cassanova McKinzy did as well – to Tampa on Friday and missing practice Saturday. Auburn's leading receiver returned the field Sunday but is suspended for the bowl game, though he will return in 2015.

Malzahn would not say if Williams would face any additional punishment for "breaking team rules" or comment on the wide out's apparent eye injury. Williams missed the whole week of bowl practice in Auburn due to an undisclosed ailment, though the photograph he posted of his half-red with blood eye came just a day after the Tigers completed bowl prep on the Plains.

It was the latest off-field distraction for a program that had four players, all seniors, with known disciplinary issues away from the field over the last seven months.

Marshall and cornerback Jonathon Mincy each had marijuana-related run-ins with law enforcement. Marshall paid a fine for his citation in Reynolds, Georgia while Mincy entered a pre-trial diversion program.

Mincy missed just a few plays on the season opener while Marshall sat out the first half.

Robenson Therezie faced "eligibility issues" prior to the season opener, but was cleared to play the night before the game and did not start but did play.

Jermaine Whitehead got into a verbal altercation with safeties coach Charlie Harbison and was suspended for four games, spent two on special teams only, and has been on defense for the final four games.

The Auburn defense, particularly in the secondary, struggled mightily in Whitehead's absence.

Wide receiver Quan Bray, who suspended for a game during the 2012 season following his arrest for violating his driver's permit during a traffic stop for a noise violation in Georgia, said he and other seniors have spoken up at team meetings to try and curb the off-the-field issues.

"There's a little slipup. That happens with every team," Bray said. "That's when the leaders like myself and seniors step up and have a team meeting and letting guys know that we're not going back to the 3-9 season, we're going to move forward. All the little things that creep out and the little discipline issues; we're going to fix that so we'll be successful later on."

The lack of discipline carried over onto the field as well, where Auburn ranks 98th nationally in penalties per game (6.92) and 111th in penalty yards per game (68.42).

"As far as on the field this year, there has been some uncharacteristic discipline penalties and especially later in the season," Malzahn said. "That's my job as a head coach to correct those things and we will correct them. I really expect us to be better in this bowl game."

The only players dismissed from the program in Malzahn's two-plus years as coach have been Demetruce McNeal and Ricky Parks, both for drug-related reasons.