Auburn athletics community reacts to Gus Malzahn’s UCF job - AL.com

Minutes after UCF football coach Gus Malzahn opened up his introductory press conference, Auburn basketball Bruce Pearl coach tweeted out “BOOM!”

Minutes after that, Pearl started his own press conference. Before he discussed the upcoming basketball game between Auburn and Mississippi State, he took a minute to explain that “BOOM!” was indeed a congratulations to his friend Malzahn rather than a recruiting announcement (Malzahn always tweeted out a “boom” after Auburn received a commitment).

“UCF is getting a great coach and a better man,” Pearl said. “As much as anybody, I’m happy for the student-athletes there because he’s going to make a difference in their life. So happy for Gus.”

Pearl wasn’t the only one to express his pleasure that Malzahn had landed in a good place after being fired from Auburn in December 2020. Former and current Auburn players whom Malzahn coached shared the news across Instagram and Twitter after Malzahn was hired Monday. Some simply shared UCF’s posts while others added a message.

Here’s how people reacted:

Daniel Thomas, former Auburn safety, current Jacksonville Jaguar

Darius Slayton, former Auburn wide receiver, current New York Giants receiver

Roger McCreary, senior Auburn cornerback

McCreary started his junior year under Malzahn. He could have declared for the NFL Draft but decided to come back for a senior season despite the coaching change. He quickly retweeted the news about Malzahn’s new job, sharing the video of Malzahn and his wife landing in Orlando, Fl.

Former linebacker Deshaun Davis also retweeted UCF’s Twitter announcement.

Multiple players shared UCF’s welcome post on their Instagram stories. These players include senior running back Shaun Shivers, former wide receiver Anthony Schwartz, sophomore wide receiver Kobe Hudson, sophomore wide receiver Ja’Varrius Johnson, senior safety Smoke Monday and sophomore offensive lineman Keiondre Jones. Former quarterback Devin Adams added a message.

Gus UCF — Former Auburn quarterback Devin Adams reacts to the news that his former coach Gus Malzahn will take over the UCF football program on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021.

Other players chose to share the picture of Malzahn holding up a UCF jersey with his name on it. The players who did so include former safety Jamien Sherwood, junior linebacker Owen Pappoe, former wide receiver Eli Stove, senior linebacker Zakoby McClain and sophomore defensive lineman Colby Wooden. Sophomore running back Tank Bigsby shared a message along with the post.