'Music to my ears': Cadillac hiring revs up teammates

'Music to my ears': Cadillac hiring revs up teammates'Music to my ears': Cadillac hiring revs up teammates

Cadillac Williams

AUBURN, Ala. – When Auburn coach Gus Malzahn hired Carnell Williams to tutor the Tigers' running backs, it set off a celebration among Carnell's Auburn backfield mates.

Go crazy, Cadillac's teammates.

"It's awesome, I got excited like I was being recruited to Auburn myself," said former Auburn running back Ronnie Brown. "I'm speechless for him to get this opportunity."

"When I heard about it, it was like music to my ears," former Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell said. "To see another guy who's worn the blue and white and invested his time there and is going to honor this university by his work ethic and making sure he recruits the right type of guys."

With Campbell at quarterback and Williams and Brown at running back, Auburn went undefeated in 2004, winning the SEC Championship and the Sugar Bowl. The trio, along with defensive back Carlos Rogers, were all drafted in the first round the following spring.

Cadillac's credentials will resonate in recruiting, Campbell says.

"For a high school athlete, if I'm from the state of Alabama, Cadillac was "Mr. Football" in Alabama, a top five NFL draft pick, instantly when he walks into my living room, my antenna is going to go up," Campbell said. "I'm going to listen to everything he has to say.

"If I had the opportunity to sign with Auburn, anything he's telling me in that meeting room, he's done it from experience at Auburn and from experience playing in the NFL, being Rookie of the Year. He's seen a lot of football, he's played a lot of football and he's been around a lot of good coaches, so he brings a lot of aspects to the room."

Williams becomes the fourth Auburn letterman on Malzahn's coaching staff, joining associate head coach Rodney Garner, receivers coach Kodi Burns, and linebackers coach Travis Williams, who also starred on the 2004 team.

Williams, says Brown, paid his dues to earn this opportunity at his alma mater.

"I've seen everything that he's put into it, going to Henderson State, to West Georgia, and how passionate he's been about it, understanding the work that's gone into it to get to this point," Brown said.

"He's a genuine guy, he's a hard-working guy. He has high character. He cares about what he's doing. He's passionate about it. When he first started in coaching, I said, 'This is what you were meant to do,' because I can see how he relates to the guys. I know they're getting someone who cares."

Coaching at the school for which he played, to borrow the SEC's slogan, makes it just mean more.

"When you add that he's getting to do it for a university that he's connected to, that's given him so much," Brown said. "We had an opportunity to play there, and to be able to give back to that university that's given you so much, I think that just adds on top of the fire, and adds another level to him being even more motivated, if that's possible, to be able to do his job at an even higher level."
 
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer