Bryan Harsin reveals Auburn players of the game from Week 1

Following a 42-16 victory against Mercer to open the season, Auburn coach Bryan Harsin named his players of the game. Running back Tank Bigsby earned the title on offense, linebacker Cameron Riley claimed defensive honors, Brandon Council was offensive lineman of the game and Colby Wooden defensive lineman of the game.

Harsin also noted that Brandon Frazier and Zion Puckett were recognized for their academic performance this week. In a press conference Monday, the coach had plenty of great things to say about the play of Council from Saturday.

“The first play he started running his feet,” Harsin said. “That’s what you want to see from your offensive line. He ran his feet, sustained his blocks and played physical. I think from what he’s been through to get back out there and play, it was good to see him go out there and showcase what he’s capable of doing but also it’s a little bit of the work he had to do to get to that point.”

Council joined the Tigers in 2020 after transferring from Akron. He suffered knee injuries in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons, but battled his way back to earn a starting role this season. It was a great performance from not only him, but also the entire offensive line, which paved the way for 280 yards rushing on seven yards per carry.

“He hasn’t had it easy from his injuries,” Harsin said of Council. “He hasn’t had it easy from us. We’ve pushed him hard whether it’s weight, getting in shape. The guy’s been through it. To have him go out there and play and have success when we ran the ball the way we did, that’s everything leading into that. I wouldn’t say it’s just from one game. It’s every single thing that he’s had to do to get himself to that point to where he earns a chance to go out there and start, play well and also be recognized as the lineman of the game. I think there’s a lot more to his story than just this one game to be recognized.”

On the whole, Bryan Harsin was pleased with the performance from Auburn, which scored touchdowns on four of its first five drives that day. However, they also turned the ball over twice while not forcing any turnovers over their own.

As the Tigers prepare to face San Jose State at 6:30 p.m. CT this Saturday, they will work on correcting those mistakes and getting to where they want to be.

“I thought we did some good things,” Harsin said. “We did not win the turnover battle. That was one area that we have to improve on. We did run the ball effectively. Then we weren’t very good in the red zone in a couple areas on the defensive side. We talked about it in meetings. We talked about it on the field and that’s something we still have to keep emphasizing going into the second week.

“It’s early in the year and like I said before we played, you know a lot more about your team after four hours. I thought we did some good things. It was good to see some new faces out there and now we have a game to work with going into this week. Know the things we have to get better at for each individual player and then what we have to do as an offense, defense, special teams and then as a program.”