AUBURN, Ala. – If you look in the box score Sunday morning, you're not likely to see the names of Chandler Cox or Jalen Harris or Tucker Brown. The trio has spent the last three seasons at Auburn together, though, and between them, they have appeared in nearly 100 games.
"We're a group that gets overlooked," Cox said. "I think the cool thing is that all of us are OK with that. None of us really want the fame or care about the fame or really want the credit for everything because obviously we're not going to get it. We're hitting our head every play, opening up holes for the guys to get the fame, to score touchdowns.
"But the big thing is we just care about winning, and we're going to do whatever for our team to win. Whether it's me on the field, Jalen, Tucker, it doesn't really matter."
So the next time you see an Auburn player run for a touchdown, take a closer look at the player in front of him who made the block that helped clear the path. And remember that player has a story, too. A story of how they got to where they are today.
Not every road that leads to Auburn is the same.
'A CERTAIN FEELING'
Cox never imagined he'd end up at Auburn. Growing up in Utah, he always thought he'd play for USC. That's where his father played. But then the family moved to Florida when he was 11, and he quickly became a fan of Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators. He still remembers the day he received an offer from then head coach Will Muschamp.
"I was pretty much sold on Florida," Cox said. "That's all I wanted to think about and talk to, but then my parents and my family were like 'You've got to give everyone a chance. You've got to explore your options and see what else is out there.'"
So that's what Cox did. And more offers started coming in. Florida State offered days before playing in the 2013 BCS championship game. A month later, it was Alabama and Auburn. The latter piqued his interest not just because the Tigers were the other team in that title game, but because he had been a fan from when Cam Newton played there in 2010.
Shortly after receiving the offer, Cox attended a Junior Day at Auburn.
"I came up here and it was just a certain feeling that I got," he said. "It was way different than Florida. It was kind of weird and just something telling me I've got to be here. I don't know what it was and I don't know why, but it was really the only feeling I got. I'd go to Tennessee, Ohio State, Kentucky. I'd go to Alabama, Florida, Florida State, and I wouldn't get that same feeling. I was like, 'Dang, I've got to be here.'"
Cox didn't know anybody at Auburn. There wasn't a significant reason to go there other than that feeling that stuck with him. And when he returned for Auburn's Big Cat weekend two months later, he committed to the Tigers. It didn't matter that he was a Florida fan at the time or that he had family ties to USC. He wanted to pave his own path.
Now, more than four years since making that initial commitment, Cox has started 30 games for the Tigers and become an integral part of the offense.
"To see myself, where I came from and just knowing how I got here, it's pretty incredible."
'TO CARRY ON HIS LEGACY'
When Harris committed to Auburn in June 2014, the happiest person in the room – with the exception of maybe family – was former Auburn star Philip Lutzenkirchen. Harris still has a framed photo of the two from that day in his bedroom in Montgomery.
Two months prior, Lutzenkirchen had accepted the job as tight ends coach at St. James School where he began working with Harris and helping prepare him for the next level.
"He was there for that spring," Harris said. "He was just mentoring me, coaching me up and just telling me whatever college would expect out of me and what type of drills I need to be doing. So he had a big impact in my life, especially at that time for me wanting to go to the next level and be the best football player I can be.
"I knew how good he was at Auburn and everything, and I always heard about him. So I just soaked in everything he said. He was a real humble guy."
That summer, with help from Lutzenkirchen, Harris started getting offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn and LSU. He was going to various camps, and nobody could cover him. But Lutzenkirchen never pressured Harris into following his path to Auburn. In fact, Lutzenkirchen was one of the few people who knew that Harris nearly committed to Alabama.
Even when Harris announced his commitment to Auburn, he was still torn between the two in-state schools. There was still doubt lingering in the back of his mind.
That changed five days later when Lutzenkirchen passed away in a car accident.
"That was a tough time for me," Harris said. "I just remember crying and crying, and a lot of my friends were coming over and checking up on me, seeing how I was doing because they know how big of an impact he had on me. We texted almost every day.
"After that experience and after it all settled in for me, I never once swayed about Auburn again. I felt like me going to Auburn is to carry on his legacy. Not in the sense of what he did on the field, but how he helped me and the way that Auburn helped him. I knew Auburn could help me the same way."
Harris, who graduated in August and is now working on his master's degree, is still trying every day to follow the example set by Lutzenkirchen. One day, he wants to be an athletic director, so he can "have an impact on all young athletes who want to make it to that next level."
'ICING ON THE CAKE'
There might not be a bigger fan of Auburn football on the team than Brown. On a scale of 1-to-10, he describes his fandom as an "11" growing up. He and his older brothers would fight over who got to wear the Karlos Dansby jersey at every game, and he still remembers exactly where his seats were for every one of those games inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"Section 57, Row 14."
Though Brown played football in high school, his chances of ever playing for Auburn were slim. He was a 235-pound offensive lineman with no scholarship offers. But he saw his older brother, Sam, walk on at Auburn in 2010 just in time to be a part of the national championship team. The next year, Sam got on the field as part of the punt return unit.
"It was inspiring to me," Brown said. "I've always wanted to play Auburn football, but then I saw that was it actually possible even if I wasn't some five-star athlete."
So when Brown arrived at Auburn in 2014, he tried out for the team. But still at 235 pounds and trying out for offensive line and long snapper, he didn't make it. As a result, he began working out and eating more. When he tried out again in January 2015, 30 pounds heavier, he received an email a couple days later that he had made it.
"I remember when my brother made it," Brown said. "He called and told us at home. 'I'm going to be an Auburn Tiger.' I still remember the phone call. I was sitting in the kitchen. So it was pretty cool calling my parents and doing the same thing he got to do."
Like his brother, Brown eventually earned a spot on the field. In his second year, he got on the field for punts and field goals. Then last year, as a junior, he moved to tight end where he appeared in every game. This spring, now at 289 pounds, he was one of the contenders to replace Casey Dunn as the team's starting center.
"Thinking about it now, it's weird to think how I went from 235 and now I'm playing SEC football," Brown said. "We went to the SEC championship last year. All that stuff was just stuff I never thought would happen. And then I got to contribute, too.
"Me and my parents always talk about how I already got on the team, so everything else after that was just icing on the cake. That's what we've said for the past three years."
This year is no different. Whatever happens? Icing on the cake.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf
