TIGER TALK REVIEW: Mercer Week '25

It’s once again time for the TIGER TALK REVIEW — this time as Auburn enters Mercer Week for a game against the Bears.

WHERE TO LISTEN: You can check here to see which radio station near you may be carrying the show. You also can click that link and get hooked into the stream through Auburn’s web portal.

WHERE TO WATCH: You can check here to see if the Tiger Talk Live Stream is active. I am told everyone can watch the stream on War Eagle + even if you’re not a paid member. I am not sure this is true. I will update this as conditions merit.

THE FIRST SEGMENT

WE HAVE INTERIM HEAD COACH DJ DURKIN TONIGHT

On this week: “The bye week, we did a lot of recruiting. Really, just want to touch base with these guys, keep this class together the best we can. Our staff has done a good job of that. You always use bye week to self-evaluate. We had a great week of practice. It’s game week now … this (Mercer) team is very good. They’re 9-1. They’re really well coached.”

What does a good off week look like: “It’s a healthy mix. There are guys you have to rest up and get healthy. Then there’s a whole other group of guys who need those reps. You’ve got to keep developing your roster. That was our focus.”

On approaching this game with a game as the interim under his belt: “This week has been much more settled down for me. It was a lot coming at you that (first) week. We’re back to our routine. This is what a Monday is, what a Tuesday is. Everyone wants to feel they understand what’s coming, what to expect.”

On the offense against Vandy: “I loved our attacking style. To me, we eliminated negative plays, we played with tempo, we got the ball to our play-makers and we played aggressive. Have confidence. We’re not going to be on our heels doing anything we do. They put it on the field.”

Andy thought it was a good performance, too. “Some of those catches (from Cam Coleman) were unreal. Those guys are such good teammates — they never let their frustrations show. To see them go out there and play the way we know they’re capable of was really cool for them and for the team.”

THE SECOND SEGMENT WITH DURKIN

On the situation with Ashton Daniels: “The whole thing about these decisions is communication. I want our players to always know … what’s going on. Ashton … showed the whole world what he’s capable of the other night. I think Ashton can be a great player here moving forward. What happens now? Other guys get an opportunity. You’re going to get to see Deuce play in this game. You’re going to see Jackson play. Jackson has a lot of great football in him, too. We’re going to put together a great plan for both of those guys. They’re both going to play.”

On what Ashton thought about this: “He’s tremendous. He’s a tremendous teammate. Ashton was down to do whatever was needed. It was not a deal at all … where it was individual versus team. It was all team.”

On the other quarterbacks: “They’re excited. (Deuce) looks like he’s ready to conquer the world.”

“Jackson has taken some heat. That kid is a good football player. He’s had his struggles, but it’s not all on him. He’s still a young man that has a career ahead of him — and we’ve got to help him with that.”

On who will start: “We’ll make a decision later in the week. That’s the right way to do it.”

On this team playing for bowl eligibility: “Our total focus is on being 1-0 this week. That’s all you can do. It’s just reality. There’s nothing you can do about something down the road this week.”

“Once you win that game, then you move on to the next.”

On which day during the week is the most important: “Our most physical day of practice is Tuesday. Wednesday becomes more third down and red zone. Thursday you get it all together and work the overall game plan.”

“We are a team. There definitely are specializations, but at the end of the day it’s our team. We’re all together. We start and finish every day all together.”

THE FINAL SEGMENT WITH DURKIN

On Mercer as a team: “They’re a complete team. It’s a lot of vertical pass concepts. He’s got some receivers that go after it and go get it. Defensively, they’re disruptive. They get vertical off the line of scrimmage. Their d-ends are up the field. We’ve got to do a great job of eliminating negative plays offensively.”

Drew/Dru/Drue is in the house. He wants to know if they’re still running RPOs: “Our focus is on allowing our quarterback to play fast and make fast decisions. We’ll continue to do that. We don’t want them thinking too much on the field.”

On Mason Murphy at center: “I thought it went really well. At center, there’s a lot more to it. I thought he played really well and did a tremendous job with it.”

On Keldric Faulk and Key Crawford: “The part that maybe everybody doesn’t know about is that they’re two of the best leaders I’ve been around. They’re two of our hardest workers. They bring it every day. They carry and echo the
message of the coaching staff down to their teammates. Players are naturally going to follow them.”

On Amaris Williams: “Amaris is very productive when he’s in there. He’s got elite ability. He’s hungry about it.”

On this being Senior Day: “That’s a special moment on the field. Think about all the … things these families have done to get them to that moment. It’s a lot.”

On this game being another sellout. “Our fan base is second to none. Everyone mimics Tiger Walk now. In a time where our production on the field hasn’t been what anyone wants … it’s still sold out that way.”

On a key defensively this weekend: “We’ve got to affect this quarterback. We’ve got to change up our looks; we can’t stay in one thing.”

Durkin signs off with a determined “War Eagle.”

BE GOOD. BE YOU.

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