"I want them to know me more as a person before they leave," he said. "There's a lot more of this deal with being a team than football. You learn a lot more about life than you do (football)." Malzahn began by addressing Auburn's 14 seniors. One at a time, he had them stand, and told them what he appreciated about them – saying of one: "You are extremely tough mentally and physically; I love your character and the person you are," and of another: "Use your influence in a positive way; the Lord has blessed you." Then he got personal.The two-point message was delivered quietly, but with intensity. Malzahn challenged the Tigers "to never quit on your family," saying when his father left the family when he was 6 years old, it hurt him deeply and for years. And then he explained how, in his mid-20s, married with two young daughters, he contemplated doing the same thing. "Y'all see me now, but I was a work in progress," Malzahn said. "Man, I had some idiot switch in me.
I started thinking, I don't know if I like this. I've got to be doing other things. I had buddies, they were single, and I wanted to run around with them. It's just by the grace of God that the Lord slapped me in the face and said, 'Wake up.' "I'm here to tell you if I'd have done that, I wouldn't be here today.
There's no telling where I'd be. You look at my family history, my grandfather was an alcoholic, my dad was an alcoholic. … It's just by the grace of God I stuck with my family. I've got a loving wife. I've got two daughters. I'm not the best dad – I try to be – but hey, I'm there for 'em."
@ that crowd roar around the 3:15 mark. It still feels good brehs
