Marines are as tough as they come, so after giving stern words of advice to calm the nerves of his family, Ford's Game Day Hero, Phil Cartwright, then addressed himself.
"What I had to tell them is, 'It is going to be loud, there are a lot of people, and sometimes you just have to smile and wave.'
"I had to tell myself to not trip," Cartwright said, reliving the thrill from being recognized Saturday during Auburn's game against Tennessee.
"It was exhilarating," he said. "It makes me feel honored that I was able to go out there and accept that accolade, and it made it even more worthwhile because I was out there with my family and my children got to see what Auburn's all about."
Cartwright is currently an active duty serviceman participating in the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program, in which one applies to become an officer.
Auburn, Cartwright said, is not where he initially thought he would be commissioned.
A Florida native, Cartwright planned to attend the University of Florida, but a fellow Marine he served with who recently completed the same program suggested he should apply to Auburn. Cartwright took his advice and received his acceptance letter within two weeks.
"When I came here as part of the MECEP, I knew I was going to grind my way through school and get it done, but since I've been here, I have really learned to appreciate the Auburn family," he said.
"It may sound cliché, but it isn't. It is real, and you see that with people who have come through and continue to come back."
Graduating in the spring of 2019, Cartwright will continue his military career as an officer with hopes to extend it to 25 years of service. The commissioning program allows him to study subjects he's passionate about, making school more enjoyable.
"I am a history major, and that is the beauty about this process," he said. "There are not really career implications because you are going to do what the Marine Corps needs you to do and knowing that permits me to study what I enjoy."
Cartwright works for the Veterans Resource Center and encourages his fellow student veterans to seek out the opportunities the VRC and the Student Veterans Association offers.
"The Auburn family extends all over the world, but I feel that the Auburn veteran family is even deeper rooted," he said. "We are all in that same spirit of service and having that type of loyalty to where we are right now is what is going to keep me coming back."
Phil Cartwright, thank you for you service and War Eagle.
Navy veteran Jonathan Housand is a student assistant in Auburn Athletics communications