Auburn showing signs of life on offense is key as Bryan Harsin redemption tour begins in 2022 spring game

Harsin was nearly ousted by university boosters in February after going 6-7 in 2021

When Auburn holds its A-Day spring game on Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium, it'll mark the beginning of Bryan Harsin's redemption tour. The embattled coach of the Tigers endured a bizarre offseason that was "uniquely Auburn." A booster revolt nearly cost him his job in early February; university power players were disgruntled with Harsin's 6-7 debut, which culminated in a pesky Birmingham Bowl loss to Houston -- the last of five straight losses to end the year; and he failed to revive an offense that became stale under former coach Gus Malzahan. 

More than two dozen players exited via the transfer portal, including longtime starting quarterback Bo Nix, and Auburn didn't sign a single player during the traditional National Signing Day. Assistant coach turnover added to the frustration as well. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo was fired and his successor, Austin Davis, left shortly after his hiring for personal reasons. Defensive coordinator Derek Mason took the same job at Oklahoma State after spending just one season on the Plains. 

Such a chaotic start to the offseason could have ruined Harsin, who was retained for at least one more season in February, but he seemed to be more introspective when discussing some goals of spring practice.

"The one thing I've learned over time is to simplify things," he said in March. "Simplifying your life and honing in on the things that matter, and trying to be really good at those. Get your degree, be a great teammate, try to contribute to your team winning, try to win a championship. Do things in the community, develop yourself. Trying to get that message across to our guys but also living it at the same time."

Saturday's spring game will provide a glimpse of the adjustments -- if any -- Harsin intends to implement to fix a broken program. All eyes will be on the offense, where Harsin tabbed 49-year-old Eric Kiesau -- a former assistant under Harsin at Boise State -- to run the show. Like Harsin, Kiesau is an SEC outsider. Aside from last season when he was an analyst/wide receivers coach for the Tigers, Kiesau has only one year of experience coaching in the SEC footprint (for Alabama in 2015).

He has a quarterback conundrum to work through, too. Nix is gone, but T.J. Finley is back after starting the final three games of 2021. Former Texas A&M starter Zach Calzada, who led the Aggies to a win over Alabama last year but has been banged up a bit this spring, joined the program in January, as did former Oregon signal-caller and Hoover, Alabama, native Robby Ashford. 

Player	Games (2021)	Comp. %	Yards	TD	INT
T.J. Finley	9	54.7%	827	6	1
Zach Calzada	12	56.1%	2,185	17	9
Robby Ashford	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Who will step up? Will any of the three show separation? It's usually ill-advised to take too much from a spring game, but if one of the players under center vying for the top spot on the depth chart shows promise, it will go a long way toward calming lingering nerves from the Auburn family.

The focus on the defensive side of the ball will be similar. First-year defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding -- another former Boise State staff member with limited experience in the south -- will have plenty of work to do replenishing a depleted defensive line hit harder by the transfer portal than any other unit. Edge threat Derick Hall is back, but the Tigers have little depth up front. Keep an eye on who rotates in and out with the first team on Saturday -- it'll peel back the curtain on whom Schmedding's plans include.

Harsin is in a prove-it spot after just one season. He survived the attempted coup in February, but that was a temporary result for a lingering problem. Coupled with reports of internal strifes -- former players Smoke Monday and Lee Hunter were vocal critics of Harsin after leaving -- the lack of on-field success has put the 45-year-old on the hottest seat in the SEC and one of the hottest seats in America.

Two of the Tigers' first four conference games are at defending national champion Georgia and an Ole Miss team fresh off a Sugar Bowl appearance. They'll host Penn State in Week 3, Texas A&M in mid-November and finish things off on rivalry weekend at Alabama. Those are five likely losses without even considering toss-ups and potential upsets. 

Harsin has to show signs on Saturday that his team can become relevant in the SEC West. If he doesn't, those voices that grew into a roar in February will start making noise again. That's the last thing that a program on the brink of disaster needs.