Gus Malzahn has been an innovator since his high school football days.
The current Auburn head coach who has been baffling opponents with his option, no-huddle, spread attack, famously got his start in the prep ranks, coaching in the state of Arkansas.
After a stint at
Hughes (Ark.), in suburban Memphis, Malzahn became the head coach at
Shiloh Christian (Springdale, Ark.).
It wasn't long before his disruptive ways took root at the small private school.
Current Shiloh Christian head coach Josh Floyd was a sophomore quarterback when Malzahn arrived in 1996. That year Shiloh Christian made the playoffs, and implemented several new offensive wrinkles that were innovative at time.
Mainly, the team started to pass, and pass without huddling.
"We toyed with it in the playoffs my sophomore year," said Floyd. "That offseason is when we installed the no-huddle, hurry-up offense."
Malzahn stuck with the scheme the next season.
"We started running two- and three-play drives at the first of games the year before,"
Malzahn told AL.com this summer. "We'd get great momentum, and then we'd have to go back to huddling and we'd lose it. So we decided in 1997 that summer to revamp everything and see what happens."
With an arsenal of passing plays, Malzahn took the team to some 7-on-7s in the summer, long before it was a common part of the high school football offseason. The results speak for themselves.
Shiloh Christian enjoyed a successful season in 1997, but in 1998 the Saints finally broke through and won the school's first state title.
That season, Floyd put up Madden-like numbers, finishing the year with 5,521 yards and 66 touchdowns, a national record at the time. He attempted over 500 passes, impressive even by today's standards.
During the three-year stretch, Floyd compiled 10,656 yards and 125 passing touchdowns.
Mitch Mustain, Springdale
Photo by Jeff Thomas
Several years later, Floyd began his own coaching career as Malzahn's continued to take off at
Springdale (Ark.), his next destination. There Malzahn coach the likes of former USC quarterback Mitch Mustain and Tennessee Titans receiver Damian Williams in 2005.
That team finished 15-0 and ranked No. 6 nationally in the
MaxPreps Computer Rankings, while averaging over 47 points per game.
During that time, Floyd recalls Malzahn inviting his former quarterback to Springdale to talk some football.
When Floyd arrived, it was an assembly of future coaching titans. Malzahn was helping Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris, then a Texas high school football coach, install his offense. Chris Jones, who has led Greenwood to six state titles and took home NFHS National Coach of the Year honors last year, was also picking Malzahn's brain.
For as impressive as his schematics were, Floyd said that something different sets Malzahn apart.
"I think the Xs and Os part is good, and he's obviously very effective, but I think there are a lot of people that can do the Xs and Os. I just think he pays such great attention to detail," Floyd said." "He doesn't miss anything. He demands perfection."
Malzahn has less than four weeks to perfect every detail of his team's offense against the parade of future NFL players comprising the Florida State defense.
