< PreviousOfficial Smoked Sausage and Hot Dog of the Auburn Tigers ® True southern flavor since 1947. Made in Evergreen Alabama. - 1 lb. Conecuh Smoked Sausage - Hot dog buns - BBQ sauce, warmed - Grilled Peppers and Onions - Sauerkraut - Sweet Dill Relish - Ketchup, Mayonnaise, Mustard Conecuh Sausage dogs are perfect for tailgating with your favorite team when the game is on, or anytime! Grill sausage on all sides until done, pop it in a warm bun and add your favorite toppings. Make sure you have plenty of sausage - and napkins - on hand for seconds (and thirds)! CONECUH SAUSAGE DOG 800-726-0507 ConecuhSausage.comHAPPY HOMECOMING: AUBURN OFFENSIVE LINEMAN KILIAN ZIERER 21 There’s a joy you experience when you attend your first Auburn football game. From Tiger Walk to the eagle flight to the team running out of the tunnel to cheering on the Tigers with 87,000 other fans, it’s something you don’t forget. Susanna Scholz certainly won’t for- get her first Auburn game. Scholz, the mother of starting offen- sive lineman Kilian Zierer, attended the San José State game in September. She and her other son traveled all the way from Germany to be there. Most fans left early after a 90-minute weather delay in the second half but not Scholz. She stayed through it all. When Swag Surf came on at the end of the third quarter, Zierer looked up and saw his mom swaying back and forth with the other fans around her. On the field after the game, you could see that unmistakable joy as Scholz, still soaking wet from the rain, spotted her son and ran to give him a hug. “She loved everything about it,” Zierer said. “Absolutely everything. I saw her doing the Swag Surf, which was extremely funny. She was out there in the rain, stayed after the rain delay. I’ve never seen my mom have so much fun at a sporting event.” Getting to Auburn from Germany is no easy task, but Scholz is already talking about coming back for another game later this season. It’s worth it to see her son doing what he loves. “I’m proud and excited and happy,” Scholz said Friday before the game. Zierer’s road to Auburn wasn’t easy either, but it’s a path he would take again if given the choice. *** There are times when Zierer cannot believe he’s playing football at Auburn. “I’m not really supposed to be here,” he’ll say to himself. Zierer grew up in Munich, Germany where football is an afterthought to soc- cer. He started out as a wide receiver/ tight end, moved to the offensive line at 220 pounds, and then returned to tight end his senior year in high school. He had interest from one school in the Unit- ed States – College of the Canyons, a junior college in Santa Clarita, California. “I’ll go there. Why not,” thought Zierer, who knew nothing about college football at the time. “That first year he called us daily, and we talked for half an hour daily,” recalled his younger brother, Wilson. “It was hard at first, but after one or two years, it got better.” In the spring after his first season at College of the Canyons, Zierer earned a scholarship offer from Auburn. He hopped on a plane to Auburn the next week and fell in love with it. He commit- ted two months later. He still had one more season to play in junior college and was playing some of his best foot- ball when adversity struck again. He tore his ACL. AUBURN OFFENSIVE LINEMAN KILIAN ZIERER AUBURNTIGERS.COM HAPPY HOMECOMING: BY: GREG OSTENDORF PROUD PARTNER Get the right defense for the right price. Switch and save with Allstate. Based on average annual savings of new customers surveyed in 2021 who reported auto savings when switching to Allstate. In most states, prices vary based on how you buy. © 2022 Allstate Insurance Company, 3100 Sanders Road, Northbrook, IL 60062. Marks are registered trademarks of their respective owners.HAPPY HOMECOMING: AUBURN OFFENSIVE LINEMAN KILIAN ZIERER 23 Auburn kept their scholarship offer, and Zierer signed with the Tigers three weeks after having surgery. He spent the next year in Auburn rehabbing, and shortly after his arrival, the campus and town essentially shut down because of the COVID pandemic. He couldn’t go back home. He didn’t know anybody in Auburn. All he had was his rehab. When Zierer finally took the field for the first time at Auburn, it was a struggle. “My first year here, I couldn’t block anybody,” he said. “I got put on scout team because my knee didn’t work. I was not a good player that year. I didn’t know how the future was going to be.” Zierer had an additional surgery on his knee after that 2020 season, and when he recovered from that, the knee felt as good as new. Everything took off from there. In 2021, Zierer saw his first game action in the opener against Akron. He earned his first start at Arkansas where he was named the team’s offensive line- man of the week. He started the Alabama game as well. And following a strong offseason with no setbacks, he won the starting left tackle job for the Tigers this season – his final season on the Plains. “When I got to start my first game at Arkansas, I realized I can actually play in this league,” he said. “And then it just got better and better from there.” The road wasn’t easy, but Zierer went from a 220-pound tight end in Germany with one junior college showing interest to a starting left tackle in the SEC. *** A little more than two hours before kickoff against San José State, Zierer’s family stood in line on South Donahue awaiting Tiger Walk. His younger broth- er had Kilian’s jersey on. His father, who also made the trip along with his step- mother, was asked to hold up one side of the “Tiger Walk” banner. Everybody had on “Germanator” buttons that his girlfriend made. They were ready. Most games Zierer gets off the bus and walks through the crowd of people to the stadium without stopping. This game was different. A smile came across his face as soon as he saw his family. He stopped and hugged his mom, his dad, his brother. He took some photos. “It was awesome to see them out here at Tiger Walk,” Zierer said. “It was a great experience not to have to walk down Tiger Walk and not seeing any family really. Like all the other guys here, I got to see my family.” Longtime Auburn fan Ron Terry was next to the Zierer family at Tiger Walk and was astonished when he found out they had traveled all the way from Germany to be there. “I think it’s fantastic,” Terry said. “When he came through, the family was hugging him and kissing him. It really made me feel good. They didn’t know what this was all about. They said they’re so impressed so far with everything. I said, ‘No matter what you do, you need to get into the stadium to watch the eagle fly. That will give you goosebumps.’” Zierer’s family did see the eagle fly. They saw the team run out of the tunnel. They even took part in the Swag Surf. Most importantly, they saw their son play in person. It didn’t matter that it rained or that it wasn’t an SEC game. It was their first Auburn game, and it’s something they will never forget. “Auburn is really like a big family,” said Zierer’s mother during her trip. AUBURNTIGERS.COM AUBURN OFFENSIVE LINEMAN KILIAN ZIERER HAPPY HOMECOMING:HEAD COACH BRYAN HARSIN 27 Bryan Harsin is in his second year as Auburn’s head football coach after spending the previous seven seasons as head coach at Boise State where he compiled a 69-19 record while winning three Mountain West Conference titles. Harsin was named Auburn’s 28th head football coach on December 22, 2020. A former Boise State quarterback, as- sistant coach and offensive coordinator, Harsin is 82-31 overall as a head coach – including one season at Arkansas State – and has directed his programs to bowl games each season. His impressive re- sume at Boise saw him lead the Broncos to five 10-win seasons, seven consec- utive bowl appearances and six MWC West Division Championships. He led the program to a 5-2 mark and a trip to the MWC championship game in 2020. Harsin’s first Auburn program reg- istered a pair of ranked wins, including against No. 10 Ole Miss and at No. 17 Arkansas. He also became the first Auburn coach in 22 years to defeat LSU in Baton Rouge, as the Tigers registered a thrilling come-from-behind victory. Four players earned All-SEC honors and cornerback Roger McCreary received first team All-America accolades. For just the second time in Auburn football history, two players earned CoSIDA Ac- ademic All-America honors in the same season as Nick Brahms and Anders Carlson were honored for their academ- ic and athletic excellence. In his debut season Harsin led his alma mater back to where it rose to national prominence. Boise State went 12-2 in 2014, winning its first outright Mountain West Championship and capping the campaign with a 38-30 victory over Arizona in the 2014 VIZIO Fiesta Bowl. The victory in the Fiesta Bowl was the third such win for the Broncos in the previous nine seasons. Harsin, serving as offensive coordinator in the first two Fiesta Bowl victories, has been a part of each of the school’s three appearances in the game. The team’s victory in the 2014 Mountain West Football Champion- ship marked Boise State’s first outright league title since joining the conference in 2011, and the first overall since 2009. The only alumnus to lead the Broncos as head coach in the history of Boise State, Harsin has won conference champi- onships as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach. Boise State also captured MW titles in 2017 and 2019, giving Harsin three in six seasons. In 2017, the Broncos capped the championship campaign with a 38- 28 victory over Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Broncos concluded the year at 11-3 overall and ranked No. 22 in both the Associated Press and Coaches Polls. The Broncos went 12-2 in 2019, recording the team’s first perfect 8-0 conference record since joining the MW and earning the school’s fifth all-time appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl. Boi- se State concluded the season ranked in both the AP (No. 23) and Coaches Polls (No. 22) and were No. 19 in the final rankings of the College Football Playoff Poll, the third-straight season finishing in the top 25 of the CFP. AUBURNTIGERS.COM BRYAN HARSIN HEAD COACH® FAVORITE CHIP OF THE @GOLDENFLAKE @GOLDEN_FLAKE @GOLDEN_FLAKE WWW.GOLDENFLAKE.COM | WWW.UTZSNACKS.COMHEAD COACH BRYAN HARSIN 29 In 2015, the Broncos went 9-4, climbing as high as No. 20 in both the AP and Coaches Polls. Boise State capped the 2015 campaign with a 55-7 victory over Northern Illinois in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, the fifth-largest margin of victory in the history of bowl games. In 2016, Harsin guided the Broncos to a 10-3 record and an appearance in the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl. In 2018, the Broncos concluded the season ranked in all three major polls - No. 23 in the AP Poll, No. 24 in the Coaches Poll and No. 25 in the CFP Rankings. The Broncos have been ranked in the top 25 in each of Harsin’s six seasons, climbing as high as No. 13 in both the AP and Coaches Polls in 2016, and No. 13 in the Coaches Poll in 2019, Boise State’s highest rankings since finishing eighth and sixth in each, respectively, in 2011. Boise State went 10-3 in 2018, boasting the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year in quarterback Brett Rypien – one of 11 All-Mountain West honorees. Rypien concluded his career as the Mountain West’s all-time leader in career 300-yard passing games (21), completions (1,036) and passing yards (13,581). He also ranked second in league history in both wins by a starting quarterback (37) and career attempts (1,619) and tied for second in career touchdown passes (90). Curtis Weaver made it three- straight MW Player of the Year honors for the Broncos in 2019, following Ryp- ien’s nod in 2018 and Leighton Vander Esch’s Defensive Player of the Year award in 2017. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (2014) started the streak, followed by running back Jay Ajayi (2015), lineback- er Kamalei Correa (2016), running back Jeremy McNichols (2017), linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (2018), running back Alexander Mattison (2019) and Weaver. Vander Esch was a first-round selection of the Dallas Cowboys after foregoing his final season of eligibility. In his rookie season, Vander Esch was named second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press. The Broncos won at least 10 games in five of Harsin’s seven seasons, giving Boise State 17 since joining what is now known as the Football Bowl Subdivision in 1996. The total ranked second behind only Ohio State during that time. For his efforts in 2014, Harsin was named a finalist for the Paul “Bear Bry- ant” National Coach of the Year Award, the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year Award and the Dodd Trophy, given annually by the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year Foundation. He was also named the nation’s top first- year head coach by the Football Writers Association of America. A graduate of Capital High School in Boise, he played quarterback for the Broncos from 1995-99. Following his graduation from Boise State with a degree in business management, Harsin coached running backs and receivers at Eastern Oregon in 2000. The former Bronco letterwinner be- gan his coaching career at Boise State as a graduate assistant in 2001, before taking over the tight ends as a full-time assistant coach from 2002-05. When Chris Petersen was hired as head coach in 2006, Harsin assumed the role of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Harsin was Petersen’s offensive co- ordinator for five of his eight seasons as head coach (2006-10) and was named a finalist for the 2009 Broyles Award, awarded annually to the nation’s top assistant coach. Boise State went 61-5 during his tenure as offensive coordi- nator. With Harsin on staff, Boise State won 11 conference championships in 17 seasons. Following the 2010 season, Harsin went to Texas, where he served as co-of- fensive coordinator from 2011-12. While with the Longhorns, Harsin helped guide the ascension of an offense that ranked 88th in scoring prior to his arrival, to No. 24 nationally in 2012 (36.1). Harsin then earned his first head coaching opportunity at Arkansas State in 2013, which claimed a share of the Sun Belt Conference championship and a berth in the GoDaddy.com Bowl that season. Harsin and his wife, Kes, have two daughters, Devyn Lynn and Dayn Mcke- na, and a son, Davis. AUBURNTIGERS.COM HARSIN AT A GLANCE Personal Hometown: Boise, Idaho Wife: Kes Children: daughters: Devyn Lynn, Dayn Mykena son: Davis College: Boise State (2000) Playing Experience: Boise State (1995-99) Coaching Experience 2021-current: Auburn Head Coach 2014-20: Boise State Head Coach 2013: Arkansas State Head Coach 2011-12 Texas Co-Offensive Coordinator/QBs 2006-10: Boise State Offensive Coordinator/WRs 2002-05: Boise State Tight Ends 2001: Boise State Graduate Assistant 2000: Eastern Oregon Running Backs/WRs Bowl Experience Coach: 2021 Birmingham Bowl 2019 Las Vegas Bowl 2018 First Responder Bowl 2017 Las Vegas Bowl 2016 Cactus Bowl 2016 Poinsettia Bowl 2014 Fiesta Bowl 2012 Alamo Bowl 2011 Holiday Bowl 2010 Las Vegas Bowl 2010 Fiesta Bowl 2008 Poinsettia Bowl 2007 Hawai’i Bowl 2007 Fiesta Bowl 2005 MPC Computers Bowl 2004 Liberty Bowl 2003 Forth Worth Bowl 2002 Humanitarian Bowl Player: 1999 Humanitarian Bowl Next >