AUBURN, Ala. – Marlon Davidson wants to make plays for his team. He wants to do his part to help Auburn win games. But in the same way those things motivate him every week, there's also this desire to one-up his teammate, fellow defensive lineman Derrick Brown.
If you remember the old slogan, "Anything you can do, I can do better," it's no different than that.
So coming off the Florida game when Brown was making plays all over the field, Davidson knew he had to step up this past Saturday at Arkansas. He watched film all week. He noticed certain tendencies by the opposing quarterback. And on the third play of the game, when he lined up and saw the quarterback's stance before the snap, he knew right away it was going to be a pass.
This was his chance to make a play, to change the game.
"I do a jab step, stab and then threw a rip, and I see the quarterback stepping up," Davidson said. "In my mind, my instincts are telling me to dive – dive and just grab the ball.
"So I dove, hit the ball, and then the ball hit the ground and just stopped. It was like, 'Please get me.' I went down, grabbed it and was like 'Man, this is crazy.' This is like the first drive of the game, and I already have the ball. This is going to be one historic game. In my head, I was already saying it. 'Dang, I'm about to go off.'"
For Davidson, it was his second forced fumble of the season and the fourth of his career. It was also the fourth fumble recovery of his career and the first this season. After the play, he was quick to go find his counterpart on the sideline.
'Uh oh Derrick, I'm about to take off," Davidson told him.
"Nah, I got you bro. I'm coming," Brown responded.
Auburn safeties Jeremiah Dinson and Daniel Thomas have been playing behind Davidson and Brown for years now. They have gotten used to seeing the two go back-and-forth, making play after play up front, but yet when they saw Davidson do what he did Saturday, it was hard not to come away impressed.
"We were in zone coverage, so I kind of looked back at the quarterback and I saw (Davidson) get around at the last minute and pull the ball," Dinson said. "At first, I didn't know where the ball went until he got up and started running with it. It was a hell of a play."
"I didn't see it live. I saw it on film," Thomas said. When I saw it, I said 'Marlon, that's an extra-effort play right there. That's one heck of a play. A normal guy is not doing that.'"
Looking back at film, Davidson's only regret was that he didn't scoop up the ball and try to run it back for a touchdown. However, the Auburn offense picked him up by scoring three plays later to give the Tigers an early 7-0 lead en route to a 51-10 victory. It was that strip-sack and recovery, though, that set the tone for the rest of the game.
Davidson, who added another sack in the second quarter, was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week for the third time this season. Not that he's counting, but that's one more time than Brown who has received the honor twice – once after the Texas A&M game and then again after Florida.
Between the two, Auburn has now had the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week following five of the seven games they've played this season.
"We play with a relentless edge about ourselves," Davidson said. "Because our defense has always been about fast, physical, relentless effort, physical and mental toughness and just tackling. That's what we're built on. That's what Coach (Kevin) Steele instilled on us the first day. And that's what we're showing to everybody."