AUBURN, Ala. – To most of the country, Cadillac refers to the luxury vehicle brand. But to Auburn fans, it will always be synonymous with one of the great running backs in program history – Carnell "Cadillac" Williams.
Most fans can still remember Williams galloping past the Alabama defense for an 80-yard touchdown run on the first play of the 2003 Iron Bowl and Rod Bramblett's famous call, "Go crazy, Cadillac, go crazy," that will forever live in Auburn lore.
"To wait two years to play in that game that I've been watching my whole life and to open the game up and go 80 yards, it was like a dream come true," Williams said recently, reflecting on his favorite memory as a player. "To this day, when I hear that 'Go crazy, Cadillac,' it still brings chills. So many great memories (at Auburn)."
So when Gus Malzahn reached out about the open running backs' coach position this offseason, the decision for Williams was easy. In fact, it was a day he had envisioned before. Maybe not that soon. But when he got into coaching following his career in the NFL, he knew he always wanted to end up back at Auburn, to end up back home.
"For me to have a chance to come back to a university where I met the love of my life, to come back to a university that has such an impact on me as a man – my character, the way I think, the way I treat people – I feel like every day I'm in paradise," Williams said.
"This is a place that I truly love. And like I always tell people, I believe in Auburn."
Williams has yet to coach his first game at Auburn, but in the six months that he's been on the job, he's seen first-hand how much college football has changed in the last 15 years.
Recruiting, in particular, has taken off. There was no social media when Williams was an elite recruit coming out of high school. There weren't as many camps or visits either. It wasn't necessarily the 24/7/365 type of schedule that it has become for the coaches today.
"It's been an eye-opener," Williams said. "Just the grind of it – it's crazy in a good way. It's definitely been different for me, but I'm ecstatic and excited to be back here. These first couple months – to be with this staff, Coach Malzahn, this support staff, academically, just the whole Auburn nation – it's been unbelievable.
"From the football part of it, being able to talk with and be around these guys – for a guy who has been there, who has done it – to get to be around them probably does more for myself than them."
The one thing that hasn't changed all that much is Auburn. The same tradition, pageantry and passion that Williams enjoyed as a player at Auburn still exists now that he's a coach. And the same Auburn Family that took him in the first time and stood by his side through adversity has welcomed him back with open arms.
Williams has just learned to better appreciate that love the second time around.
"Whenever I was in college as a player, I had tunnel vision to where even though I was out getting all this (attention), I was on a mission," he said. "A lot of times when you're in it, you don't take a step back to embrace it. But now that I'm coaching and to hear the stories about what myself and what Auburn has done for people, to have them embrace me the way they've embraced me, it's overwhelming. It's like 'Wow.'
"The Auburn Family has been great, and I'm excited to be back."
What its all about, post practice whistle drills. Another one of our staff I shot when he played and now work with 15 ish years later, Cadillac Williams. @CoachCaddy24#AuburnFamily #Auburn #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/OuqEF5ou9U
— Todd Van Emst (@fototodd) August 18, 2019