AUBURN, Ala. – Deshaun Davis celebrated Auburn's Senior Day shutout with his family, but Saturday night found the Tigers' leading tackler at a familiar location: in front of a monitor breaking down video.
"I didn't even give myself the 24-hour rule. It was like 24 minutes," Davis said. "I kind of jumped into it and I'm excited to play this game Saturday. You don't want to waste any time."
With Auburn University on Thanksgiving break, Davis uses the extra time when he would typically be in in class to study the Tigers' opponent.
"The preparation has to match what you want to put on the field and how you want to play on Saturday," he said. "My team is pretty fired up. We know what's at stake. We know the talent that they have. We know the respect level they have for us also. It's the Iron Bowl. They don't like us, we don't like them. It's going to be a physical game, it's going to be a pretty good game. I'm excited to compete in it."
Auburn plays No. 1 Alabama Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS in Tuscaloosa.
"If I had to pick any other unit to compete with, I'd pick all 10 guys I run out of the tunnel with each and every Saturday," Davis said. "I know we're going to be prepared, I know we're going to be up for the test. But it's not just about being emotionally riled up. You have to know what they're doing. If you're pumped up and you don't know how to execute, emotions can only take you so far."
The quotable senior linebacker offered observations Tuesday that had the state's sports reporters typing tweets into their laptops and marking notebooks for sound bites to share.
"I think a lot of people fear the logo of Alabama," he said. "They go out and they execute at an extremely high level. They dominate their opponent. But sometimes you can see from the first play of the game, some teams are defeated. That's just something that we can't afford to do going in Saturday. I can tell you right now, they don't need any help. We're in a hostile environment, on the road. We've just got to go out and play our game.
"I fear no one's logo. I fear God."
A reliable, productive leader, Davis has made 252 tackles in his Auburn career, No. 6 for the Tigers since 2000.
"It's my last one, last Iron Bowl, last regular-season game, probably my last time wearing a white uniform at Auburn University," he said. "So before the ball is snapped, I'm definitely going to look around and just take in the environment, take in the atmosphere, one of the best rivalries in college football, in front of one of the best fan bases in college football, playing one of the best teams.
"Going to war with my brothers, leaning on each other, trying to go out and compete and get a win. But when that ball snaps, I'm going to be on 10. I can tell you that now. I'm going to play with every ounce of energy that I've ever had. I'm going to leave it all on the field and hopefully my teammates can match my intensity."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
