Charles Barkley loves Bryan Harsin's 'courage'

Famed Auburn alum Charles Barkley covers basketball in his day-to-day life, but he has not been shy about commenting on college football. Barkley appeared on The Next Round on Thursday and gave his stamp of approval on Auburn’s new head coach Bryan Harsin. 

“I like him a lot,” Barkley said. “I think what he did coming to Auburn shows me what kind of confidence he has in his own ability.”

Harsin had been at Boise State since 2014 where he posted a 69-19 record. In his final year, the Broncos went 7-5.

“He could’ve stayed at Boise State and won seven games a year and lived happily ever after and nobody would’ve never said anything,” Barkley added. “But he had the courage to come to Auburn, Alabama to go up against the greatest college football coach ever in the toughest job. That tells me he believes in himself, and I’m telling you I am so pumped for this season.”

Harsin announced Friday he tested positive for COVID-19, but he is not experiencing any symptoms. Linebackers coach, and former Boise State defensive coordinator under Harsin, Jeff Schmedding is interim head coach. Additional Auburn players are isolating after testing positive and contact tracing this week. He is expected to coach the Tiger’s opener against Akron on Sept. 4.

Harsin has several weapons at his disposal in first season

Auburn went 6-4 in 2020 before firing head coach Guz Malzahn. Harsin inherits Malzahn’s quarterback in Bo Nix, who threw for 2,415 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions with a passer rating of 123.9. Harsin will try to help Nix elevate his game in his third season.The former five-star recruit has shown flashes of potential but has struggled to step up in big moments.

Running back Tank Bigsby is poised to make national noise this season after running for 834 yards and five touchdowns as a true freshman last year. The All-SEC freshman of the year was just featured on the SEC Network’s ultimate conference offense list. Shaun Shivers will join him in the running back room for another season after 62 rushing attempts for 276 yards and a touchdown last fall. 

Additionally, Linebacker Zakoby McClain, who finished 2020 with 113 tackles and three sacks last season, was listed on the network’s ultimate SEC defense selections.

An SEC West schedule is always tough, and this season the Tigers play Penn State in Happy Valley as part of their non-conference schedule.