The Wildcat Dynamic: Gus Malzahn and His Newest Project

The term "spread offense" strikes fear in the hearts of most Auburn Tiger fans after the disastrous 2008 season. When a team isn't built to run the spread, it obviously can't be successful.

Former Auburn Offensive Coordinator Tony Franklin may in fact have been an offensive guru—his stats at Troy were off the charts. The Trojans had the right personnel to fit his style, as opposed to the Tigers.

Who's to say that given the right group of players, and some time to smooth it out, he wouldn't have been successful? Tuberville's staff never gave him that chance, and now none of those coaches will have that opportunity.

We won't get the answer to what could have been with the Tony Franklin offense, but Auburn will soon find out what the Gus Malzahn system is all about.

Most fans may not like to hear this, but Malzahn and Franklin have some similarities. Both have offenses that many high school teams have picked up over the years, and these offenses are known for racking up offensive numbers.

Franklin sells his system to schools, while Malzahn wrote a book that preaches his own style. While Franklin gets another chance at MTSU this season, Malzahn is the man who hopes to put up gaudy numbers for the Auburn Tigers in 2009.

His book, titled Hurry Up No Huddle — An Offensive Philosophy, can give you some what of an idea of what to expect this season. Watch some game film from his 2006 Arkansas team. A team that was underrated, despite having two of the tops tailbacks in the country, went all the way to SEC title game under Malzahn's direction.

Malzahn's style is a much better fit for Auburn, because the idea behind it is a run-first mentality. Last season, the mix of running and passing was no where to be found for the Tigers.

One thing that college football fan's didn't necessarily expect see from the 2006 Arkansas team was a formation known as the Wild Hog. Malzahn has long been known for having this within his repertoire, and he utilized it in Fayetteville like no other.

The Wild Hog saw Heisman runner-up Darren McFadden finish the year with three touchdown passes. Three different non-QB Razorback players had completions that season out of Malzahn's offense. What an interesting dynamic to throw at a defense that already has to focus on the running ability of a player such as McFadden.

In 2009, the Auburn Tigers will look to match that success by implementing the Wildcat into their playbook. Since the quarterback race has already been decided, and last year's signal caller Kodi Burns has been moved to receiver, that adds another possible wrinkle into the Tiger offense.

Burns can throw, and he's quite the athlete with a good combination of size and speed. Whether he takes the snaps out of the Auburn version of the Wildcat formation, or is just another body on the field, the options are endless as to what he can do.

Malzahn has showed before what he can do with a versatile player, so look for him to do that again. Even though he hasn't labeled a starting QB for the Auburn Wildcat set, he has numerous options.

Mario Fannin, a versatile tailback/slot receiver for the Tigers is another capable candidate, along with speedy freshman receiver Emory Blake, who's father was a Pro Bowl quarterback for the Bengals. Either way, this part of the offense is a breath of fresh air to the Tigers.

The Wildcat has picked up steam all across the nation, from the NCAA to the NFL, so defenses are having to prepare for even more than just the traditional spread offense. The last two seasons, Malzahn directed one of the nation's top offenses, routinely putting up over fifty points a game and 500 plus yards of total offense at Tulsa.

We've heard good things so far, and coupling the mastermind beind the Tiger offense with a very athletic recruiting class, we can expect big things from the Auburn offense very soon. The Wildcat is here, and for now, it's not going anywhere.