Aug. 30, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- There's nothing quite like running out of the tunnel through the smoke for the first time at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The adrenaline is pumping through your veins. The crowd is deafening when you first take the field. It's the moment you've been waiting for since you signed with Auburn, since you started playing football.
For this year's newcomers, that moment will take place Saturday at 6:30 p.m. when the Tigers open the season at home against Georgia Southern.
Most of the veteran players on the team remember that moment -- their first home game -- like it was yesterday. Sure, some had attended Auburn games growing up as fans or as recruits. Others had even played in Jordan-Hare Stadium when they were still in high school. But none of that compares to playing your first college game in front of 87,451 crazed fans.
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER FROM YOUR FIRST GAME AT JORDAN-HARE STADIUM?
Linebacker Tre' Williams: Arkansas, 2014
"Being really nervous for sure. My first-ever college game was an SEC game, a big game. I remember standing at the tunnel, and it felt like my whole family was right there. All I saw were flashes. It was a blessing, a dream come true.
"I played special teams, and one specific play I still remember to this day was on punt return. Quan [Bray] was returning the ball, and I ended up getting a crack-back [block] on the play. That really made my name for Auburn. That's something I still look at."
Safety Nick Ruffin: Arkansas, 2014
"I remember it being hot. I also remember just running out of the tunnel, coming out of the smoke for the first time, seeing all the fans and hearing all the noise, the band being right next to us, looking over and seeing my family in the stands and just being excited seeing the pads and the gloves for the first time ever. It was very surreal for me."
Long snapper Ike Powell: Texas A&M, 2014
"They were redshirting me and then halfway through the season at Ole Miss, our senior snapper got hurt. I played the last half at Ole Miss, and then my first home game was the next game we played -- Texas A&M at home.
"I honestly don't remember much at all [from that game]. My freshman year is kind of a blur because everything was so surreal. I remember the night before the Texas A&M game just sitting up and bed and just thinking about the whole moment. I was so hyped up, so excited."
Defensive lineman Gary Walker: Jacksonville State, 2015
"When I stood on the sideline, I looked around and the crowd was shaking their pom-poms and everything. Just to see that sea of blue and orange, it was kind of mind-boggling."
Running back Malik Miller: Arkansas State, 2016
"The first college game I got in was Arkansas State. That's the first time I've seen the stadium filled up under the lights. By that time, I was ready to play. I wasn't nervous. I was just ready to go out there, take the field and hear the fans roar and everything. I was just wired. My adrenaline was running. It was just an amazing feeling. There was just energy being pumped through me and through the fans and just the whole atmosphere."
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THE PLAYERS MAKING THEIR DEBUT SATURDAY?
Williams: "Just stay calm. Don't go out there with too much energy. We understand it's your first game, but don't waste your energy trying to be hype. Stay calm, know your game plan, be confident, and just know your teammates have got your back."
Ruffin: "Be excited. Relish in the moment. But also don't forget that you have a job to do. Just enjoy it, enjoy the experience and enjoy your time, but don't forget you still have a job to do at the end of the day."
Walker: "Live in the moment. Feel the butterflies. Let them come in, come out, and then get ready to play."
Greg Ostendorf is a Staff Writer for AuburnTigers.com.