Jay Prosch's high school coach says Auburn has 'some kind of plan' for Prosch

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UMS-Wright coach Terry Curtis, who coached Auburn fullback transfer Jay Prosch, wouldn't bite on whether Auburn was tipping its hand in its offensive coordinator search by accepting the bruising fullback from Mobile's transfer from Illnois.

"I’m not going there," Curtis said with a laugh.

But he did say how coach Gene Chizik reacted when Curtis called to gauge Auburn's interest as Prosch mulled a transfer from Illinois.

"When his name was mentioned, (Chizik) kind of perked up," Curtis said. "I figure they’ll do something with him. With all the people they had out there on the line this late in the recruiting process, they have some kind of plan for him to jump on him that quick. For them to jump in there and give him a scholarship and do what they did to get him on campus in just a matter of a few days, they have some kind of plan for him."

Prosch served as the Fighting Illini's main blocking back over the past two seasons under former offensive coordinator Paul Petrino, now at Arkansas.

He started for two seasons in Illinois' run-heavy offense and carried only two times for 9 yards -- all of them coming on a fake punt this year -- but helped pave the way for tailback Mikel Leshoure to carry for 1,697 yards in 2010.

Prosch was named a Pro Football Weekly first-team All-American this season, but felt with new coach Tim Beckman coming from Toledo -- and bringing a spread offense with him -- he wasn't sure there was a place for him anymore.

"Nothing against the staff at Illinois, but he just felt like to better himself, he needed to look for a change," Curtis said. "I made some phone calls to several schools that were looking at H-back, fullback types. Auburn had remembered him and jumped on him. The rest is kind of history."

Prosch was also seeking a move to be closer to his mother, Iris, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in April.

"His mother’s a single mom," Curtis said. "His sisters are a little older than he is. They’ve moved on, married and everything. It was kind of, for the last couple years of high school, just Jay and his mom. You can imagine how close that would be.

"Everything was fine when he went, and then all this stuff started. It all kind of happened after he went to Illinois. He doesn’t say a whole lot about it, but knowing how he feels about his mom, I’m sure it tore him apart. Every time he’d come home, I’m sure it would be a little harder to leave her.

"Even though he’s not in Mobile now, he’s within three hours. He can get to her and maybe she’ll be able to spend more time with him, going up to see him and stuff. I think it’s going to be good for both of them.”

On the field, Curtis got a good view of what Prosch can do for a team when he was at UMS-Wright.

Just about anything you ask of him.

"He’s going to be a great player for them," said Curtis, who just finished his 13th year coaching the Bulldogs. "He’ll do anything. He’s going to be a leader in the weight room. He’s going to be a leader by his work ethic on the football field, and he’s going to be a leader off the field.”

The 6-foot-1, 255-pound Prosch played offensive tackle for UMS-Wright in 2008, helping lead them to a state championship and earning first-team All-State honors along the way.

He switched to linebacker the next year, recording 199 tackles in 13 games and earning first-team All-State honors again.

Prosch was a two-star recruit coming out of high school and Auburn showed interest.

Illinois showed more.

"Auburn had shown a lot of interest," Curtis said. "They liked his toughness and they felt like, at the time, he could play linebacker. They remembered him, and that helped. They were between him and another guy. If the other guy would not have come, Jay would have probably got a scholarship to Auburn to start with."

Prosch carved out his niche as a fullback at Illinois, as well as putting up some fairly ridiculous numbers in the weight room: 440 pounds in the bench press and 590 in the squat.

If the Tigers go with a more pro-style offense with their new coordinator, Prosch could be a punishing lead blocker.

If they stay with a Gus Malzahn-mold coordinator, he could still inhabit the role Philip Lutzenkirchen held last season, freeing Lutzenkirchen up to be more of a pass-catcher.

Whatever the "plan" is, Curtis said, Prosch will be perfect for it.

"He’s going to be a player for them," Prosch said. "Auburn people are going to love the way he plays and the way he carries himself. He’s going to play somewhere.

"Jay will do whatever they want him to do. He’s glad to be back in the state of Alabama and playing at Auburn."