ATLANTA – Sitting in the team suite at The Omni Hotel after going through the "gauntlet" of SEC Media Days, the three Auburn players who went talked with head coach Gus Malzahn about their favorite parts of the day. They brought up this room or talking to that person. They looked through the various pictures people took of them on social media.
"Man, I look good," one of them said.
For the Auburn trio – quarterback Jarrett Stidham, defensive lineman Dontavius Russell and linebacker Deshaun Davis – Thursday was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
It's different for Malzahn, who goes to media days every year. It's different for the reporters, who are there every year – some for all four days – and even for the fans, who tune in on TV every July in anticipation for the upcoming season. For the players who attend, it was an opportunity to represent their school and build their own brand.
"This thing was pretty cool," Stidham said. "It's a cool experience because honestly, there are a lot of guys that deserve to be here. So it's pretty humbling to be able to do this kind of thing, represent Auburn football in this kind of way. It was a lot of fun."
"The day went really well," added Davis. "I had a ton of fun just going from room to room, having the different events, getting the different questions. It was a complete honor to represent Auburn University. I'm thankful to Coach Malzahn for choosing me. And the fans – when they found out I was one of the guys that was chosen, they showed me tremendous love on social media. They reached out to me and told me how proud they were of me.
"I'm just enjoying the moment. I'm soaking up everything and just taking it all in."
One of the best parts about the whole experience for the players was getting to dress up and pick out a suit, tie, shirt, shoes and accessories that fit their personality. Fashion is always a big deal at SEC media days, and the Auburn trio did not disappoint.
👔👞🕶#WarEagle #SECMD18 pic.twitter.com/mRbfRsh8ib
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) July 19, 2018
Davis wore a light blue suit jacket with an orange bow tie, and of course, his outfit wasn't complete without the sunglasses. Russell went with a navy suit, and a patterned tie that drew some compliments from the media. And Stidham looked clean with a gray suit, white shirt and navy tie with a paisley pattern – though not everybody loved the tie.
"Cole Cubelic said it looked like his grandmother's curtains," Stidham said. "So I don't like him anymore."
But at the end of the day, the players had fun. They enjoyed going room to room, meeting with different TV personalities and taking questions from various reporters. Even at the podium in the main room where reporters crowd around you and fire one question after another.
In fact, that was one of Russell's favorite parts.
"The podium area is what stood out to me because you feel more important," he said. "You always see celebrities fielding questions that way, but you don't ever really do it. It was kind of cool to actually sit up over people and get that experience."
After the event wrapped up and they ate lunch in the team suite, the three players hopped on a plane back to Auburn where fall camp is set to begin in two weeks.
Wheels up. These guys represented the #AuburnFamily well! #WarEagle #SECMD pic.twitter.com/eAw2BfYRwO
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) July 19, 2018
They were already excited about the upcoming season after talking about it all day, but flying over Mercedes-Benz Stadium on the way out and knowing that in just 43 days they will be back in Atlanta to open the season against a potential top 10 team in Washington, it raised the excitement to another level.
"Just to get here and get that feeling that the season is almost here, it's really exciting," Davis said. "We're almost to the moment where we can get in front of the best fans in the country again and do what we do best. It kind of gives you chills just thinking about it.
"But just to get back over there in the dome, get that bad taste out of our mouth, and hopefully come out with a W, I think it's going to be good for our team."
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf