AUBURN, Alabama -- At some point in the middle of Auburn's whirlwind recruiting push in January,

Dameyune Craig

woke up before the break of dawn to board the school jet for a recruiting trip.

The clock read somewhere between 5:30 and 6 a.m. All football coaches are used to early-morning hours, but even Craig found himself shaking sleep out of his eyes.

When Craig boarded the plane,

Gus Malzahn

was already there, wide awake and looking for the pilot.

"I've been up since 4:30 in the morning," Malzahn told his new assistant coach. "I couldn't get the pilot up."

EARLY TO RISE, LATE TO BED

A little more than three months into his tenure as Auburn's head coach, Malzahn is still a week away from the start of spring ball and his first official practice on the Plains.

All coaches are judged by what they do on the field, but after Malzahn's first 105 days at Auburn, his head coaching style has already started to emerge.

For starters, the man is everywhere.

"He's a guy who's got a great vision, and he's got a great work ethic behind it," tight ends coach

Scott Fountain

said. "Sometimes he's in so many places you wonder if there's two of him."

Malzahn has already been much more visible publicly than his predecessor. A fixture in the seats for Auburn basketball games, Malzahn has also made appearances at the Senior Bowl, Auburn's Pro Day, multiple AHSAA events, quarterback club meetings, and threw out the first pitch at the Capital City Classic.

Former Auburn player, Cam Newton, left, sits with head football coach Gus Malzahn at the Auburn/Alabama basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013, at the Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett / jbennett@al.com)

Behind the scenes, Malzahn's probably been even more active, from hiring his on-the-field coaches to a support staff that is growing but hasn't been released in full yet.

"I think Gus did a great job of taking his time and assembling his staff," defensive line coach

Rodney Garner

said. "It wasn't one of those things where we had to bond with one another, I think the chemistry was already built in, and I think you have to tip your hat to him for being able to assemble that type of quality."

Malzahn spent his holiday season on the move, interviewing possible assistants, all while courting recruits. Once his staff arrived on campus, the new guys quickly realized that the head coach never stops moving, leaving only a trail of small coffee cups in his wake. At times, Auburn's assistants have woken up to text messages from Malzahn that were sent at 4:32 a.m, and they know he doesn't usually head to bed until near midnight.

Craig says he's not even sure when Malzahn eats.

"He's a tireless worker," Craig said. "When we'd be in the car, he'd be on the phone with recruits constantly. I've never seen anything like it. It's been amazing watching him work."

PERFECTIONIST

For all of Malzahn's work on the recruiting trail, hiring coaches and selling the program publicly, the key to his first year at Auburn starts next Wednesday morning when the Tigers hit the practice fields for the first time.

Malzahn has built his career on the practice fields, finding players who can fit in his offense and tweaking the hurry-up, no-huddle to fit their talents.

But no matter who the personnel are, Malzahn's coaching style all starts with his attention to detail.

"Everything, every detail has to be just perfect. Every split of the wide receiver, every split on the offensive line, every step, every minor detail is taken into consideration," offensive line coach

J.B. Grimes

said. "His attention to the details, the nuances of his offense, are out-of-sight."

Normally mild-mannered, Malzahn carries a different intensity on the field, an intensity a few members of his staff know well.

Gus Malzahn coaching in his stint as an offensive coordinator at Auburn. (Birmingham News / Mark Almond)

Both offensive coordinator

Rhett Lashlee

and graduate assistant

Kodi Burns

played in Malzahn's offense. Lashlee, who probably knows Malzahn better than anybody, says he remembers being 9-of-10 in games and taking a tongue-lashing for the incompletion he threw. His name, in the two years he played for Malzahn, was either "Rook" or "Quarterback."

And like a lot of quarterbacks, Lashlee hated having to face his coach after throwing an interception, although Malzahn has rules about how his coaching staff treats his players.

"We don't cuss our players," Lashlee said. "He doesn't allow it. We don't ever talk down to them or demean them. He can make you feel like you want to be cussed, because he's pushing you to be the best you can be."

That attention to detail carries over to the rest of the team.

"I don’t care if it’s the first day, I don’t care if it’s the fifteenth day of spring, he expects perfection, and he’s going to be hard on you," Burns said. "He wants to strain you to get the best out of you, by making you work for him."

NEW DAY

Craig has noticed something else about his new boss in the first three months at Auburn. From coaches to players to support staff, Malzahn isn't shy with praise.

"He's not worried about getting credit for what he does. He wants his players and staff to be acknowledged for the things they do," Craig said. "He knows how to motivate people and get the best out of them."

Malzahn's in an unusual situation. After spending three years working for Chizik, he's back on the Plains, taking over for Chizik after a disastrous season that saw the Tigers sink to historic levels.

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn introduces new Tigers defensive line coach Rodney Garner. (Todd Van Emst/Auburn Media Relations)

According to everybody from Auburn's search committee to his assistant coaches, Malzahn took the job with a clear vision of what he wanted to do to rebuild the program.

So far, his assistants say he hasn't wavered.

"At the end of the day, it's about a head coach's philosophy," Fountain said. "Same place, but both have totally different philosophies as the man behind the desk."

For more news and notes on Auburn football, check out the Auburn football page, and don't forget to follow the Tigers on Twitter: