Deny of the Tiger

By Al Borges

When I came to Auburn in 2004, I fell into a gold mine. My coaching career, which at one time looked very promising, had recently reached a dead end. What I found when I got to The Plains was a vast number of very talented but underachieving players with a burning desire to succeed. Together, as coaches, players, and staff, we developed a selfless majestic synergy that resulted in an undefeated season and, what we believed, would be a ticket to the BCS National Championship game. It wasn't to be. After eighteen years, and several other stops, I retired from coaching but found certain memories never retire. The Auburn Tigers of 2004 will forever represent the pinnacle of my professional career. After traveling to The Plains with my seventeen-year-old son, Cole, to watch the 2021 Iron Bowl, I had an opportunity to reunite with many of the players and fans with whom I shared those memories. Upon my return home, I was inspired by their undying enthusiasm for what was accomplished years ago. I wanted to divulge some interesting stories that haven't been told, and offer, what I hope, an enlightening perspective from the guy who accounted for the game plans and called the plays.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781684985838

Book preview

Foreword

Jason Campbell

I’m a retired NFL player who now does radio and TV work, but back in 2004, I was the starting quarterback for the undefeated Auburn Tigers football team. Needless to say, that was a special year. Playing quarterback in the SEC is a tough task. It seems there’s never a week off, and almost every team in the conference is capable of beating you on any given Saturday.

Coming out of high school, I was rated as the number two quarterback in the nation. That came with a lot of hype when I arrived at Auburn. It became even more difficult when I was asked to learn a different offense every year. I went through four coordinators in four years, with the most challenging season being 2003 in light of the expectations that came with our preseason ranking. Several publications predicted that we would be competing for the national title based upon the success of our 2002 season and the fact that most of our team was returning. They forgot one big piece: Bob Petrino, our offensive coordinator in 2002, left to become the head coach at Louisville. As a result, Tommy Tuberville, in an effort to maintain stability, felt we should keep the same system of offense and promoted offensive line coach Hugh Nall to offensive coordinator. Coach Nall had never been an offensive coordinator, so he opted to do the play calling by committee with quarterback coach Steve Ensminger. I believe the ability to put talent in the best position to succeed, combined with efficient play calling, is an art. Hugh Nall and Steve Ensminger were excellent coaches, but the transitional growing pains took their toll. As a result, our 8-5 record was not the standard for which we’d hoped. As the starting quarterback, I took the bulk of the blame, which is not uncommon for the position.

Coach Ensminger, a former quarterback at LSU, understood the situation into which I was placed and how difficult it can become when things aren’t going well. He urged me to concentrate on controlling only what I was able to control and reminded me that those who failed to understand the nature of the game will say what they will, but the players on the team knew the truth. We finished the year with victories over Alabama in the Iron Bowl and a very good Wisconsin team in the Music City Bowl. With all the turmoil that came with the 2003 season, Coach Tuberville decided it was time to make a change as offensive coordinator. The best part of his decision was to keep Hugh Nall as the offensive line coach, as well as the rest of the offensive staff, but brought in someone with the experience and background to run the offense. That, I believe, played a big part in the stability between players and coaches. At this point, things began to get interesting. Coach Al Borges was brought in from Indiana University to run his version of the West Coast offense. At that time, I was very aware of that style of play and, after watching USC run it under Norm Chow, knew it was very quarterback friendly.

I remember the first time I met with Coach Borges. Unaware of his surroundings, he wore a Hawaiian shirt and was incapable of talking without using his hands. It was obvious that he thought he was still coaching on the West Coast. I thought to myself, This is going to be fun; we’ll mix a little Hawaiian punch with some country lemonade, and that will be the recipe for a special season. Following our conversation, I recall discussing several subjects, but the one thing he said that really stuck with me was that he wanted me to let it rip. This was his way of telling me to stop worrying about making mistakes. He felt I was playing with too much caution. This was a great feeling because I instantly knew he believed in me. To that point in my career, I never wanted to be the reason we lost the game, but from then on, I decided I wanted to play a big part in why we won.

Coming out of high school, I had a reputation as a passing quarterback. When I got to Auburn, I was asked to do a great deal of handing off. It was somewhat understandable in that we had great backs like Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams, but in games, I found it very difficult to get into a rhythm throwing the ball. At the risk of sounding selfish, I was questioning my decision to come to Auburn. I wasn’t doing any of the things that made me a big recruit. I’m a believer in God and know he brought me to Auburn for a reason, and through my trials and perseverance, he was going to bring it all together.

As great as our running backs were, I felt we also had some very talented receivers who were being underutilized. I realized quickly that Coach Borges was going to consistently attack the weakness in the defense. With that understanding, the players realized that anyone could get the ball on any given play. As the season progressed, the players became very excited about this concept and really began to buy into the plan. Furthermore, Coach Borges utilized our running backs as more than just ball carriers. They became a significant part of our passing game. This served to showcase dynamic skills that had not been explored in the past.

Our 2004 campaign was a very special season. It demonstrated our determination, unselfishness, and togetherness. It resulted in a group of men who genuinely loved one another like brothers. I truly believe we could have won the national championship had we been given the opportunity. It’s hard to beat a talented team that is laser-focused on a common goal and willing to do anything for one another to achieve that goal. I often wonder what it would have been like to have played under only one offensive coordinator in my time at Auburn. However, because of change, I was able to establish great relationships that helped mold me into the man I am today. Coach Borges will always be a special person to the Auburn fan base and especially to me because he didn’t listen to the noise. Coach Borges trusted and believed in what he saw in me. I thank God for allowing him to have the vision to bring all our skills together and help us to go down as one of the best, if not the best, team to ever come through Auburn!

Preface

My name is Al Borges. I am a retired football coach who spent four years as the offensive coordinator at Auburn University (among other stops). This book, in particular, is about our undefeated 2004 season, when we were denied an opportunity to play for the national championship. Upon my return to the Iron Bowl this past season, I felt a great deal of warmth from the Auburn fans who had not forgotten that season. It inspired me to write this book, Deny of the Tiger . Although this is a book about a football team and the magical 2004 season, it goes beyond that. It involves no X s and O s, although I provide a detailed depiction of each game. I tell stories that involve the 2004 season that no one else knew. Our quarterback in 2004, Jason Campbell, will do the foreword, which will be submitted soon.

In 2000, I wrote a book on quarterback play, Coaching the West Coast Quarterback.

Introduction

My inspiration for writing this book came on my last trip to The Plains. My son, Cole, who is now a junior in high school, is beginning to look at universities he’d like to attend. At the top of his list is Auburn. He was very young when we lived in Alabama, but somehow, Auburn got in his blood. He follows every sport, and his knowledge of the details involving each team would rival Auburn aficionados Phillip Marshall or Jason Caldwell. His first love is the football program (although he doesn’t play). He also enjoys Auburn basketball and idolizes Bruce Pearl. Whenever they play, we sit in front of my television and scream at the officials. With all this in mind, I wanted to choose the ideal time to show my son the essence of the university. What better setting than the 2021 Iron Bowl?

These days, I do a weekly YouTube show involving the analysis of Michigan football. It certainly doesn’t make me rich, but it keeps my hand in the game I love, now that I’ve retired. I attend every home game and sit in the press box, which kinda gives me the heebie-jeebies when I’m identified as part of the media.

This year I decided to forego the Michigan-Ohio State game to take Cole to the Iron Bowl. It was a great game, unfortunately with the wrong outcome, and the trip was well worth it. Because the decision was made at such a late date, there was no place to stay. Jason Campbell bailed me out by hooking me up with Mike Hairston, an Auburn junkie, who told me he didn’t want any money, just good football stories. I told him, Hell, I got plenty of those.

When game day arrived, it was everything I remembered, save all the nerve-racking crap you go through when you’re coaching. I was a guest on the pregame radio show with Jason, Ronnie Brown, and the same old cast of characters that I remember from 2004. As great as the atmosphere was, writing a book wasn’t on my radar. As Cole and I moseyed around, eventually making our way to the great seats associate athletic director Tim Jackson had provided, I was constantly being stopped or acknowledged. It’s like I’d never left. That’s incredible when you consider it’s been eighteen years!

When I got home and reflected on the trip, two things dawned on me: First, Cole solidified his desire to attend Auburn. Second, I needed to give the Auburn fans (and anyone else who’s interested) my perspective of the events of 2004. I knew there were several publications that encapsulated that season, but I wanted to come at it from a different angle. I wanted to give the reader a view from the huddle, the sideline, the meeting rooms, and yes, even the locker room. I wanted to provide a window of understanding into how I thought and reacted in some dicey situations. I wanted to impart on the reader stories that have yet to be told. I had no interest in making this book into a tell-all. With that said, I will be candid in my assessment. As you thumb through the pages, you’ll quickly realize my writing style bears no resemblance to Gresham or Hemingway. I think, talk, and write like a coach. At times, the text is rated PG or even R. I wanted to be true to my character and personality with the hope that my depiction would be honest and real.

I tap into a variety of topics, some easy to understand, others not so much; but just know there was a helluva lot more going on than what you saw on the field. I’ll try desperately not to weigh you down with too much football jargon, but please realize, I wanted to give the reader something that can only come from me. At times that may involve a deeper dive. It’s important to me that the reader not only know a play gained twenty yards, but why. It shouldn’t get lost that I’m presenting my view of this memorable season from the lens of the offensive coordinator, and as you follow along, you’ll sense a lean in that direction. This, by no means, is not meant to minimize the contribution of what I felt was the best defense in the country. I’m just trying to stay in my lane, knowing the real expert on that subject is Gene Chizik. I did my best to be all-inclusive, so if I neglected anyone, it certainly wasn’t done intentionally. I depended a great deal on my memory to recall scenarios. Fortunately at sixty-six, it’s still pretty damn good. When I needed empirical data, I simply consulted the Internet, but the most valuable resource was the thirteen DVDs I kept from the 2004 season. I had CBS and ESPN versions (depending upon the game), as well as the CSS copies featuring Andy Burcham and Cole Cubelic. Together they triggered a myriad of thoughts and reactions to what transpired at the time and gave me another chance to assess scenarios. On certain plays, I went back through the all twenty-two coaches’ copies so I could give the reader an accurate mental picture, knowing the television shot can limit your view.

A byproduct of my extensive research was the pure pleasure I got from watching our team play together eighteen years after the fact. It brought back lasting memories. It gave me an appreciation of exactly how special this group was. I found the postgame celebrations to be especially entertaining. So much of it I never saw at the time, so it was cool to have the chance to relive it.

Hopefully, my taxing personality won’t wear you out to a point that you decide to quit reading and use the book as a coaster or doorjamb. I poured my guts into the 2004 season and, consequently, also the pages of this book. I hope you like to laugh because there’s several stories that may tickle your funny bone, most at my expense. This book is unlikely to be a best seller or considered a literary masterpiece, but it is a sincere characterization of the 2004 Auburn Tigers who, I believe, although denied the opportunity to prove it, were the best in the land.

In closing, I felt compelled to dedicate this book to the memory of those we’ve lost who contributed to our 2004 campaign. My good friend Meredith Jenkins, with whose departure I still struggle; Quentin Groves, who terrorized opposing quarterbacks for all of my four years and, later, in the NFL; and Rod and Paula Bramblett, who were tragically lost in a car accident, leaving us without his timely witticisms that epitomized the essence of the action and the woman he loved. They are sorely missed, and their legacies will be cemented forever.

Chapter 1

It’s Great to Be an Auburn Tiger

It’s the end of 2003, and we’re coming off a 2–10 season at Indiana University. The last three years of my career have been a lesson in futility. In 2001, after five productive years at UCLA during which we featured one of the most prolific offensive teams in the country, I decided to leave for the University of California, Berkeley. With ambitions of becoming a head coach, I felt my time at UCLA had run its course. I never regretted leaving UCLA; however, I had second thoughts about my decision to go to Cal. At that point in my career, I still felt I was marketable, but there were several other schools that would have been a smarter choice. My motivation to become a football coach never involved my need to make a lot money. That said, the Bears’ offer would make me the highest paid assistant coach in the country. That was the good news; the bad news was I would be joining head coach Tom Holmoe and his staff on the last year of his contract. Cal had enjoyed very little success in recent years, and it was a put-up-or-shut-up situation. If I couldn’t get the offense up and running and do my part in producing a winning product, we’d all be issued an apple and a road map, along with directions out of town. Fortunately I had a two-year contract that covered my ass financially but didn’t put any points on the scoreboard.

As luck would have it, from the time I arrived in Berkeley, everything turned to shit! Several key players turned up either ineligible or injured. The staff, who had some excellent coaches, continued to suffer from scars of years’ past, and the dynamic felt divisive. The players underperformed on both sides of the ball, the end result of which was a 1–10 record. In retrospect, I could have managed the situation better, but my ego gave me an aura of invincibility. Football has a way of bringing people who think like that back down to earth.

Needless to say, the result involved eating a huge slice of humble pie. For the first time in my career, I felt like a total failure. The entire staff was let go, which I felt was the right decision. The program was in dire need of a face-lift. I was asked to interview for the head coaching vacancy but never fooled myself into thinking they would hire me coming off that kind of year. Hell, the athletic director would’ve been strung up by his gonads had he even entertained the thought; however, I would have been foolish not to give it a shot. When I met with the school president, he told me that I would have been the leading candidate had I stayed at UCLA. Needless to say, that was painful to hear.

Being unemployed, I hit the ground running with an opportunity to interview at both Oregon and Indiana for their offensive coordinator positions. I had previously coached at Oregon but left for UCLA after one year. This was not received well by the current head coach, Mike Bellotti. Before I exited, he made it clear he was counting on me being there more than one year. When I went to UCLA, I remember returning to Eugene to play the Ducks and seeing signs in the stands, calling me Benedict Borges. So when Mike called me to inquire about my return, I thought it was a prank. Once I realized that the call was legitimate, Mike wanted me to understand that he was interviewing several other candidates and was not yet ready to make a decision. After leaving Eugene following my interview, I felt good about my chances.

Shortly after I returned from Eugene, I received a call from the new head coach at Indiana University, Gerry Dinardo. I didn’t know Gerry and wanted to be very up-front about my situation. I made him aware of my interview with Oregon, which prompted him to ask me to hop on a plane to Bloomington ASAP. After my interview with Gerry, he offered me the job. I knew the Indiana job was going to be challenging. Other than head coach Bill Mallory’s tenure several years ago, the Hoosiers had very little football tradition and had recently suffered through a multitude of losing seasons. That said, it was a bird in the hand, and I wasn’t comfortable waiting on Bellotti’s decision. I called Mike and told him I was going to Indiana. I do want to say that I regret never working for Mike Bellotti again. Mike was a good man and a very good head football coach, as the coming years would bear out. He reached out to me knowing it may not have been a popular move. When I left Oregon, they were on the cusp of becoming a major factor in college football. Mike had one hell of a lot to do with that. It can’t go without saying that I owe him a debt of gratitude for giving me my first chance to coordinate offense at the Division 1 level.

Entering the Game in the Fourth Quarter

The next two years were difficult, to say the least. We were 3–9 and 2–10, and I could feel my career sinking into the abyss. I loved Gerry, but I felt like I was drowning in my own spit. When my wife, Nikki, told me the job at Auburn was open, I was quick to inquire. I contacted my old friend Kevin Yoxall, with whom I had worked at UCLA. Kevin was our strength and conditioning coach until Tommy Tuberville lured him to Auburn in 1999, and we had a great relationship and a mutual respect. When I asked him if he would fire a shot for me with Tuberville, he agreed. He made it clear to me that Tuberville was in the fourth quarter of his search. They had already interviewed three other candidates.

In light of the situation, I was not very encouraged. I had heard that they still had not settled on a guy and might be open to talking with another candidate. I think a big part of it had to do with Hugh Nall. Hugh was the offensive coordinator in 2003, and although he was retained, it was with the understanding that he would go back to being the offensive line coach. Hugh was an excellent coach, as well as recruiter, so it was easy to understand why Tuberville didn’t want to lose the qualities he brought to the table. Hugh was awesome and a large part of the reason for our success in 2004. Candidly speaking, I had my reservations about taking over from a guy who would be in the room when I critiqued last year’s games and presented a new philosophy. It would have been human nature to be ultrasensitive, but not Hugh. He was the consummate professional. I can recall thinking how part of me felt bad for Hugh. After a rough start in 2003, Auburn finished the season playing well offensively, and a case could be made for Hugh to continue in the same capacity. I think, what with the tumultuous nature of the 2003 campaign, Tuberville felt a change had to be made. With that, Tommy wanted to ensure that Hugh was comfortable with whoever he hired. Being keenly aware of this dynamic, I knew that I was going to have to set Hugh’s mind at ease when I came for the interview.

The Interview: A Slam Dunk

Understand something: when I’m coaching, I live in a vacuum. I knew very little about Auburn or the drama of 2003. I did know this: they had a running back named Cadillac (I didn’t even know his last name), and I thought that was a pretty cool name. That was about it. The day before my interview, I remember watching our winter workouts at Indiana, only to do the same thing at Auburn a couple of days later. I was flabbergasted. The only thing the two teams had in common was they were both Division 1. The disparity in talent was drastic. Auburn had it all. They had a left tackle who was 6'9 and ran like a deer. The quarterback was right out of central casting, at 6'5, and very athletic. He also possessed a very strong throwing arm and demonstrated good leadership skills. The running backs, well, what can I say? They looked like running backs are supposed to look. The receivers were fast and rangy and seemed to possess good ball skills. I remember thinking, I gotta get this job. I will say this, I was unaware of the problems from previous years, but after watching the morning workout, one thing was certain: the staff’s ability to recruit talent was not one of them.

When I arrived in town, the interview process began immediately. The entire staff met at a local barbecue restaurant, and as we sat down to dinner, Coach Tuberville turned to me and said, Here is your first question, who is singing this song we’re hearing in the background?

I responded without hesitation, Hank Williams.

To which he replied, That’s a good start.

I think Tommy was wondering if coaching in the South was going to be a culture shock for me. What he didn’t realize was I was a bit of a chameleon. I have always taken pride in my ability to adapt to my environment. My philosophy went beyond saying when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I believe when in Rome, you become a damn Italian if you want to survive.

I can recall sitting on the plane, spending the entire flight learning every coach’s first name. I wanted to personalize the interview as much as possible. I did some reading about JetGate and realized the tenuous situation in which all the coaches were. Until I started going into the office