Auburn kicked off its first practice, on Monday, since winning the SEC Championship, in preparation for the BCS Championship game against Florida State.
"It was good to get back on the practice field after a week off," Malzahn said. "We focused a lot on our younger guys, which is always good. They were flying around and having fun."
Malzahn's 12-1 season has earned him several coach of the year awards, and on Monday he was honored by winning the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. This award was the latest in a long list of awards for Malzahn.
"It's a true blessing," Malzahn said. "It's a tribute to our assistant coaches, which have done a wonderful job, and to our players. When you win, you get awards. Anytime you get a head coaching award it's a group thing."
Malzahn's success this season has him linked currently to several vacant head coaching jobs around college football. Including the position at the University of Texas.
Malzahn signed a new six-year contract the day before the SEC Championship game and Monday he reaffirmed his commitment to Auburn.
"I'm a good fit for the Auburn Tigers," Malzahn said. "That's why I signed a contract the day before the SEC Championship. I said it before, I'm tickled to death to be here."
With 21 days until the Tigers face off against the Seminoles in Pasadena on Jan. 6 Malzahn is focused on his team and not Florida State.
"Early this week we are just going to focus on us," Malzahn said. "The older guys focused on fundamentals and the little things that we need to continue to improve on. Then half the time we let the younger guys have a chance to put the ball down and play a little bit. We'll do that for probably the first half of this week."
The extra practice time will be especially important for quarterback Nick Marshall who was only able to go through two weeks of fall camp before being thrust into the starting role for the Tigers.
"This is the first time other than the two off weeks that we are able to just really focus on some of the little things that I know (Nick) and coach Lashlee are working on," Malzahn said. "He's doing a great job with his decision making we've just got to get him to hold onto the ball. That was the biggest thing from the last game is we've got to protect the football better."
While Malzahn is currently focusing on his team, it does not mean he has not studied the No. 1 Florida State team yet.
"They're extremely fast," Malzahn said. "When you turn on the film the thing that jumps out to me is their speed. They are extremely fast on both sides of the ball. They are doing a great job of recruiting and they've got a lot of great players."
Malzahn is also familiar with Florida State's Heisman Trophy starting quarterback Jameis Winston from his days as offensive coordinator for Auburn.
"I recruited him when I was here and I got to know him and his family pretty well," Malzahn said. "He's phenomenal within his system and when things break down (he can still make plays). He's strong and he's got a baseball arm. The ball can get there in a hurry and he can hurt you with his feet."
The team will return to the practice field on Tuesday as they continue to get ready to play for the national championship.
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