When UCF’s social media team announced its graphic version of its new coach, it had only one face – Gus Malzahn. But by choosing Gus Malzahn, UCF also selected Kristi Malzahn, a woman who had a major influence on the Auburn program in the eight seasons that accompanied her husband there.
Kristi was the first person to thank Gus during his opening press conference as UCF’s new coach. She also met with the players as soon as they got there, and shortly thereafter, UCF started tweeting photos of the two of them. While she may not make decisions about the Xs and Os, she did bring light and laughter to the players and families in Auburn during that time. If she plays a similar role at UCF, her presence will be felt throughout the program.
“She’s looking forward to being a mom of the team,” Gus said during his opening press conference.
Kristi only had daughters with her husband, but as the wife of a soccer coach, she had hundreds and hundreds of sons. Over the course of Gus’ coaching career, Kristi said he was very friendly and got her involved with the team. It has become their effort instead of his effort, helping them to cope with the long, strange hours.
“We’re doing this thing together,” Gus said.
While Gus is concerned about schemes and strategies, Kristi is concerned about the team’s hearts.
“For me, football takes care of itself,” Kristi said. ‘But I feel that our calling and work is really about young men. These are really the X’s and O’s, yes, I know it’s important. Yes, I know we have to win. But more than that, I know that when I’m responsible for responsibility, that’s going to be how I used my time and my influence on those kids. That’s what matters to me. ”
Their partnership has borne fruit for them personally, but at Auburn it has also borne fruit on the field, beginning with Christ’s involvement in the recruitment process.
When recruits and their families visited Auburn, they got to know the Malzahns and saw the two complement each other with their seemingly opposite personalities. Recruits’ mothers can tell a lot about a coach in the way he deals with his wife and children, Kristi said. Some people may host a show, but Kristi is not one of them. It does not take long to find her.
“The first thing that comes to mind when you say Kristi is that she’s just real,” said Melody Shenker, John Samuel Shenker’s mother from Auburn. “She has no pride. She loves your children. She wants them to do their best. She loves her husband. She is a mother. ‘
Tonia Britt, the mother of former Auburn linebacker KJ Britt, described their first encounter as ‘radiant’ because their personalities match so well. Christy Troxell, the offensive linebacker Austin Troxell’s mother, said she felt comfortable from the beginning because Kristi was always ‘her sweet self’. Jennifer Frazier, a tighthead of Brandon Frazier’s mother, is an athletic director and former coach. She has recruited one boy and has met many good women coaches. But Christ’s personality and ability to connect with people stuck.
“I quickly determined that she had good relationships with all the kids in the team,” Frazier said.
The players also quickly realized that Kristi would always really be with them. Former Auburn wide receiver Darius Slayton, who now plays for the New York Giants, remembers that Kristi’s recruitment of ‘game’ took a different direction than most. While others try to convince you how wonderful you are and how much they need you, Kristi told him that they want him, but they plan to win with or without him.
“I like her saying that,” Slayton said. “I liked where it came from. I liked that energy. ”
For Slayton, who knocked off Georgia the night before Georgia’s signing, Kristi was not the deciding factor, but she “certainly did not harm Auburn’s chances.” And for mothers, when it comes to choosing a school that you are comfortable with leaving your son, they know that there is someone like Christ.
Kristi never looked like she would be a replacement or a replacement, but she’s more like a second mother on the ground. If a mother needs her, they know how to reach her.
“She gave me her cell phone number,” Troxell said. “She said, ‘If you have any questions, or if you think Austin just needs a mom hug, give me a call and I’ll make it happen. ‘”
After players committed themselves, Kristi tried to prepare the moms for what they could expect. This is usually the players’ first time away from home, which can be just as nerve-wracking for the moms as it is for their boys. Initially, they are ready to get away. But after a few weeks, they are ready for a homemade meal and help with the laundry.
While players were at Auburn, Kristi watched them. She logged on to their social media, kept up with their love life and learned more about their dreams. Although they sometimes grumbled about her investigation into the girls in their lives, they clearly appreciated her, Frazier said. On their visits to Auburn, it always seemed like the players really wanted to talk to her and hang out with her.
Maybe it’s selfish, Kristi said she wants it to be personal and really know who the kids are, but it also has an impact on the field and in the stands. Although Kristi spent a lot of time with recruits, the team parents enjoyed it when she came to games in the parenting department. She’s a joke, ‘said Brigette Brahms, Nick Brahms’ mother. She jokes around, shares stories about her children and grandchildren and is just “her bubbling self.” She really helped create the feeling that the Auburn program is a big family.
“The more we like them, the more they will respond and absorb what you say to them and you hear and know that you really care,” Kristi said.
She likes to hear stories like how former wide receiver Sal Cannella wanted to start a fashion line and how Nick Brahms and kicker Anders Carlson wanted to be pilots. She makes sure Gus knows about these things too. Once the players leave the program, she continues to follow them and revel in their successes.
For players who spend time with their teammates and coaches and ‘men, men, men, men, men’, time with Kristi is a ‘fresh fresh air’, ‘a female presence’ and ‘a positive light’, Slayton said. He always knew she really wanted to know when she was asking about his life because she is ‘always authentic’. Even now that he’s graduated, he still knows she cares.
“I went back for the Georgia game last year, and I saw her, and it was a lot of fun,” Slayton said. She jokingly said I was going to make her cry. But it’s just me who thinks I’m maybe more special than I am. But the relationship is still there, and it will always be there. ”
Sometimes Christ is tempted to be more than a cheerleader. Shenker said she was very impressed with the impact Kristi had on players who handled the tragedy. But whether the band was forged in adversity or is merely a hug and a tantalizing question about a recent Instagram story involving a girl, Kristi is there for her ‘boys’ now and as long as they need her , even after their Auburn careers are over and even after she and her husband became Knights instead of Tigers.
“I want them to know and be able to look back and ‘She’s still’ mom ‘to me,” Kristi said. ‘I think at the moment they may not see that there is any benefit to it, but I hope it might be something they heard or said, or that they just know that someone cares will make a difference. . ‘
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