The day is finally here- College Football Playoff Semifinal Saturday on ESPN 106.7! First, Clemson will battle Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl at 2:00, then Oklahoma will take on Alabama at 7:00. Catch all of the coverage of both games on air, online at espnau.com, and on the ESPN 106.7 app.
Friday on ESPN 106.7’s The Lunch Break, Coach Gene Chizik sat down with Painter Sharpless and Chuck Furlow. They discussed a number of topics before landing on a subject that hits close to home for the championship-winning coach. His son, Cally, committed to Furman recently. Naturally, he was excited for his son.
Coach Chizik said, “Well, I’m really proud of him. He committed to Furman. Just really, really proud. Furman’s a great academic institution. History of football there. Tradition is extremely strong. He had several opportunities. He visited there. He’s visited there three times now. He went to camp, took an unofficial and went and watched a game then we took an official visit a few weeks ago.”
Both Chiziks have been immersed in high-level football. The elder Chizik as a renowned defensive coordinator at Auburn before he helped lead the Texas Longhorns to the 2005 national title as co-coordinator. Upon his return as head coach on the Plains, he brought a national title to Auburn for the first time in more than fifty years.
The younger Chizik experienced that success from the sideline while growing up. Flash forward, he was a critical component to Auburn High’s 2018 success and return trip to the playoffs.
When asked why he chose Furman over offers from other programs Chizik said, “I chose Furman because of the home feeling I get when I go up there. Everything from the coaches, the team, to my recruiting class and even the location.”
It’s evident academics as well as comfort among his teammates and coaches were invaluable characteristics to Chizik. He elaborated on this when he said, “It’s always been important to me that people want me and wanna be around me for the right reasons. I get that feeling 100 percent from Furman. Academics are also a big part of it. At a certain point I compared what my degree would mean coming out of Furman compared to other schools… I didn’t see a fair comparison.”
Chizik’s father on The Lunch Break went on to give praise to Furman’s program and said, “Clay Hendrix, the head coach, has done an excellent job. Former Furman player. He’s really turned it around. They shared the Southern Conference championship this year. It’s just great football, great education, great football, I couldn’t be more thrilled. Really proud of him. I think he approached the recruiting as a mature guy and didn’t get too high or too low in any of the offers that he got. I think he’s going to be playing at a level where he can contribute and have a great career. At least I hope so. He’s happy, mom’s happy and dad’s happy.”
Below you can hear Chizik discuss why he believes Furman is a great school and a good fit for the Auburn High standout.
The full conversation with Coach Chizik is also available below.
On today’s show, Bill Cameron and Chuck Furlow talk about Auburn losing to NC State last night, David Paschall joins the show and call Hall of Fame Coach Pat Dye!
The Drive Podcast: Auburn loses to NC State, David Paschall and Hall of Fame Coach Pat Dye
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Start of show:The guys talk Auburn’s loss to NC State
On today’s SEC Report, Will and Dan discuss Auburn’s defeat in Raleigh and a successful early signing period for Gus Malzahn. They also begin giving you winners for this weekend’s bowl games.
Today on TLB, Painter and Chuck Furlow sit down with Ben Wolk from AuburnSports.com. They cover the early signing period and discuss Auburn basketball’s loss to NC State.
On today’s show, Bill Cameron and Scott Bagwell talk about players signing on the early signing period, plays Gus Malzahn’s press conference about the players that signed, call Jason Caldwell and Tommy Tuberville!
The Drive Podcast: Early Signing Period begins, Jason Caldwell and Tommy Tuberville
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