AUBURN, Ala. – Wide receiver Pace Ozmint is set to graduate Auburn University in May 2020 with a degree in business management. Over the last three years, he's grown to be part of the Auburn Family and has enjoyed every minute of it.
Just don't say that too loud around some of Ozmint's family members, who never would have guessed that his college career would take place at Auburn.
"I grew up an Alabama fan because my dad played there as a free safety," Ozmint said. "But when I came to visit Auburn, I loved the campus and enjoyed it more than I did over in Tuscaloosa. I was worried my decision might make some people mad, but everyone was very supportive."
Now a senior, Ozmint enters his final season focused and determined in his role to help the team achieve victory each week. The walk-on veteran also hopes that his hard work will earn him a larger role in support of those victories, as he plans to give it his all this fall.
"I am doing what I can to get some more playing time this year," the SEC Academic Honor Roll member said. "Going into the season with my head in the right spot and doing my best every day."
Ozmint, who grew up in Gadsden, Alabama, was an All-State Class 3A football player three years in a row at Glencoe High School where he was also a letterman in baseball and basketball. Though he enjoyed playing baseball, he knew football was his passion and wanted to play among the best at the next level.
"I had a couple of offers from some small schools, but I didn't know if I wanted to play football at a small school," he said. "Auburn offered me a preferred walk-on position, and I felt it was the best for me."
It didn't take long for Ozmint to realize what it was like to play with the best. In his fourth week of practice his freshman year, he was on the scout team and had to block Rudy Ford, who now plays in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles. Ford thought Ozmint held him on that specific play, and that led to a small altercation where Ford was in Ozmint's face yelling at him.
"That was when I realized that at this level, these dudes are for real," Ozmint said.
It's those types of moments, though, that ultimately bring teams closer to together. You're digging in with the same players every day, motivating each other to give that something extra, and at the end of the day, you're one family.
"Coming out of high school, I thought I was going to always going to be close with my high school buddies and no one would be able to compare," Ozmint said. "But around my sophomore year, grinding every day with these guys, I realized I had met my family (here). Because I knew I loved them and would do anything for them.
"Everybody is close. No one acts like they are better than anybody else. The scholarship players treat the walk-ons like we are scholarship players, because we all have our part on the team that is just as important as the next."
Growing up, Ozmint might have pulled for another team in the state, but now he's proud to be a member of the Auburn Family and might even greet you with a "War Eagle."
He also wants that same Auburn Family to assist in making his senior season one to remember. There's been a special feeling surrounding this team all offseason, and you could see that with a come-from-behind victory over Oregon in Week 1. On Saturday, the Tigers will make their home debut against Tulane in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"We have a lot of experience everywhere, and it is going to be a game changer for this season," Ozmint said. "Keep it loud. The louder y'all are, the better we play."