This article originally appeared on October 31, 2013 on The Arkansas Traveler website, uatrav.com.
Most people would see no connection between a famous rapper and a Southeastern Conference head football coach.
However, Drake’s line, “Started from the bottom now we’re here,” is a perfect way to describe Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn’s ascent to the top of the coaching mountain.
Just 30 years ago, Malzahn played his senior season at Fort Smith Christian High School and decided to walk-on at Arkansas.
Being a walk-on and a wide receiver in UA head coach Ken Hatfield’s run-heavy triple-option offense, he didn’t get much playing time, so he transferred to Henderson State in Arkadelphia, Ark.
With the Reddies, he caught 24 passes for 288 yards. Malzahn also punted at Henderson State, averaging 35.3 yards per punt in 1988 and 37.7 yards per punt in 1989.
Ironically, the offensive wizard actually started his coaching career as a defensive coordinator at Hughes High School in 1991.
Hughes, a small town in the Arkansas Delta with a population of fewer than 2,000 people, played in Class 2A. The highest classification in the state at the time was 4A.
A year later, in 1992, Malzahn was hired as the head coach at Hughes and led the Blue Devils to a 4-6 record. It proved to be the first and last losing season of his career.
After a 6-4 record in 1993, the Blue Devils reached the state championship game in 1994, but fell to Lonoke 17-13 when their final drive stalled inside the 10-yard line. Some accounts say a dropped pass in the end zone kept Malzahn from his first state title.
Hughes averaged only 21.5 points per game in Malzahn’s first three seasons as a head coach, but that spiked to 27.4 in 1995, helping him land the head coaching job at Shiloh Christian High School in Springdale, Ark. In four seasons, he led the Blue Devils to a 28-17 record.
Similar to his first season at Hughes, Malzahn’s first season at Shiloh saw its fair share of struggles. The Saints went 6-6 while averaging only 19.1 points per game. The low point of the 1996 season came in a Sept. 13 loss to Murfreesboro in which the Saints were shut out 14-0.
That was the last time a Malzahn-coached team failed to score in a game.
Shiloh roared back in 1997, finishing 14-1, but lost to Barton 54-30 in the state championship game. They also more than doubled their scoring, averaging 40.7 points per game.
Over the next two seasons, Malzahn led the Saints to a perfect 29-0 record and two state championships, the first of his career. During those seasons, his offenses averaged 44.9 and 46.8 points per game while breaking several national high school records.
In 2000, Shiloh went 13-1-1 and finished runner-up in the state championship game. Also during that season, the Class 2A Saints tied Class 5A-power and cross-town rival Springdale High School 7-7.
Following that season, legendary Springdale head coach Jarrell Williams retired after 36 years and four state titles. Despite Malzahn’s high-flying spread offense being completely different than Williams’ three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust system, the Bulldogs hired him.
It took Malzahn just two seasons to reach the state championship game, but Springdale lost to Fort Smith Southside 17-10. In 2005, though, the Bulldogs wouldn’t be denied.
Springdale won every game by at least 28 points on its way to a 14-0 record and a No. 2 national ranking by USA Today.
With several high-profile recruits on that team, Malzahn was hired as the offensive coordinator for Arkansas. In 2006, his only season with the Razorbacks, Arkansas went 10-4 and averaged 28.9 points per game.
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| Here is a map of everywhere Malzahn has coached. 1- Hughes High, 2- Shiloh Christian High, 3- Springdale High, 4- University of Arkansas, 5- University of Tulsa, 6- Auburn University, 7- Arkansas State University, 8- Auburn University |
Drama with head coach Houston Nutt ensued, so Malzahn left for Tulsa in 2007. Both seasons as the offensive coordinator at Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane finished in the top 10 in the NCAA in scoring, averaging 41.1 points per game in 2007 and 47.1 in 2008.
These highly productive seasons helped land him back in the SEC, this time as the offensive coordinator at Auburn. In his first season with the Tigers, Auburn’s scoring more than doubled.
The next season, Malzahn’s offense put up 41.2 points per game, as the Tigers finished 14-0 and won the BCS National Championship. His quarterback, Cam Newton, won the Heisman Trophy and Malzahn won the Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in the country.
He returned to the state in 2012 as the head coach of Arkansas State. Under Malzahn, the Red Wolves finished 9-3, averaged 36.4 points per game and won the Sun Belt Conference.
His stay in Arkansas was short-lived because Auburn fired head coach Gene Chizik, a spot that Malzahn quickly filled.
This season, he has Auburn back on the national scene. The Tigers are No. 11 in the BCS standings with a 6-1 record. Offensively, they’re 28th in the NCAA with 37 points per game.
Malzahn will coach against the Razorbacks in Fayetteville for the fourth time Saturday. He is 0-3 in these games and his offenses have managed only 20 points per game.
Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the game will air nationally on ESPN2. |
| Here is a graph showing how many points per game Malzahn's teams have scored over the years. (Click to enlarge) 1992-95: Hughes High (HC) 1996-2000: Shiloh Christian High (HC) 2001-05: Springdale High (HC) 2006: University of Arkansas (OC) 2007-08: University of Tulsa (OC) 2009-11: Auburn University (OC) 2012: Arkansas State University (HC) 2013: Auburn University (HC) |
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