Jabs at Michigan, Alabama and Top Moments from Gus Malzahn at SEC Media Days

Gus Malzahn isn't one for making major headlines with his quotes.

The Auburn head coach is normally guarded in press conferences and keeps things close to the, well, sweater vest.

But on Monday afternoon at SEC Media Days, Malzahn was in a suit, and he had quite a few things to say.

Malzahn gave out his opinion on the state of Auburn's roster, pointed out some of the problems from last year's disappointing 8-5 season and—most notably—took some jabs at Alabama and Michigan.

Here are the highlights from Malzahn's surprisingly quotable appearance at the podium in Hoover:

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Shots fired!

Alabama head coach Nick Saban was Malzahn's first target Monday afternoon during a response to a question about his fast-paced offensive scheme affecting the defensive side of the ball.

"You know, you look now at pace, just about everybody in our league has some type of tempo," Malzahn said. "Even the teams that used to gripe about it are doing it now."

It didn't take a genius to figure out who Malzahn was referring to with that quip.

Saban famously asked, "Is this what we want football to be?" when referencing no-huddle offenses and the concept of player safety in a 2012 SEC teleconference.

Last season, new Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin introduced some pace elements to the Crimson Tide offense. That faster Alabama offense came out on top in a 55-44 shootout against Malzahn and Auburn last November.

Later in response to the final question of Malzahn's time at the podium, the Auburn head coach brushed off the idea of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh's satellite camps—especially the one in nearby Prattville, Alabama—creating a major change in the region's recruiting.

"I think the whole thing kinda got blown out of proportion, to be honest with you," Malzahn said. "The chances of a team up north coming into our state and [signing] a player either us or Alabama wants are slim to none. It was just a matter of it being a big story." 

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Talent over experience on offense

After a rare season of relative stability on the offensive side of the ball, Auburn is back into its familiar territory of replacing plenty of playmakers. 

"We've got some big shoes to fill," Malzahn said. "We lost most of our rushing yards. We lost over half of our receiving yards."

But the Auburn head coach made it clear Monday that what the Tigers lack in returning starters on the offensive side of the ball is made up with the amount of firepower on the roster.

"We do have some experience coming back, even though a lot of them didn't start," Malzahn said. "We have some young guys who are extremely talented also with that group."

Entering the upcoming season, the 2015 Auburn offense has several things in common with that offense from Malzahn's first season as head coach.

Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

In 2013, the Tigers were breaking in a new quarterback—albeit a completely unknown quantity in Nick Marshall—and returned their top offensive player from the year before in Tre Mason.

This year, Auburn has a new quarterback with a small amount of starting experience, and its top receiver in Duke Williams. Both teams returned several starting offensive linemen, but virtually no one else in the skill positions.

But one advantage Auburn's 2015 offense has over its 2013 offense is continuity with the coaching staff. The Tigers don't have to adjust to new leadership or playbooks—something that Malzahn sees as a huge benefit heading into the fall.

"We also have our entire offensive staff back for the third year in a row, and I think that's very important," Malzahn said. "Because of that, I really believe we have a chance to improve each game, even though we're inexperienced. We're hoping to repeat the same offensive performance we did in 2013." 

Courtesy: 247Sports

Golson hasn't won the starting center job yet

Before Malzahn took the podium in Hoover on Monday afternoon, he met with several Auburn beat reporters. One of the biggest updates from that time, according to AL.com's Brandon Marcello, was the news that sophomore Austin Golson had been placed on scholarship.

Golson, who moved from tackle to center during Outback Bowl practice last year, is the presumed favorite to replace four-year starter Reese Dismukes this fall.

But when asked about Golson in the "big room" at Media Days, Malzahn didn't hesitate to say there is still a battle going on at the position.

Courtesy: 247Sports

"Austin Golson is a very intelligent player. He's very athletic," Malzahn said. "But Xavier Dampeer is also battling at that position. We've got two guys we feel very confident in."

The four years of elite play from Dismukes, who won the 2014 Rimington Award as the nation's best center, add another huge pair of shoes to fill in the Auburn locker room. The race is still on to become what has been called the "second quarterback" of Malzahn's no-huddle offense.

"We ask a lot of our centers," Malzahn said. "They have to play fast, make calls, ID fronts and everything that goes with that. But those of young men had very good springs."

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Defensive front "should be the strength"

Auburn's 2013 defense was by no means an elite unit, but part of the reason the Tigers were able to get to the BCS National Championship that season was the performance of the defensive front.

Last season, Auburn didn't have the same punch across its front seven, even though linebackers Cassanova McKinzy and Kris Frost improved their numbers.

With the addition of defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and the return of several key players, Malzahn expects that to change in 2015—even going so far as saying the defensive front would be the top unit on the team.

John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

"Our front seven should be the strength of our team," Malzahn said. "We have some quality experience, and with the addition of Carl Lawson—a healthy Carl Lawson—we could think that could be a definite strength."

Malzahn reiterated the need for a better pass rush in 2015 after a lackluster season in that category. Auburn's sack total fell from 32 in 2013 to 21 in 2014 without the talents of Lawson and NFL first-round pick Dee Ford.

That improvement should benefit the entire defense. While Malzahn called Auburn's secondary "thin" after offseason injuries and roster moves, he sees brighter days for the pass defense because of the work of that strong front seven.

"It starts with the pass rush," Malzahn said. "We didn’t have a pass rush, so we had to take some chances back there."

All quotes obtained from SEC Network's broadcast.

Justin Ferguson is an on-call college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.