AUBURN, Ala. – Nosa Eguae looked into the eyes of the Auburn senior student-athletes he addressed Monday at the Tigers Den at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Seated a few feet away were people accustomed to winning: baseball players with a College World Series appearance on their resume, an All-SEC linebacker, SEC champion swimmers, the reigning SEC softball player and golfer of the week, gymnasts who consistently earn 9.9s from judges.
"There's going to come a day when you are going to take an L in sport," said Eguae, who started on the defensive line as a freshman on Auburn's 2010 national championship team and 2013's national runner-up. "What is your response? Are you willing to keep going?"
Eguae shared his journey of transitioning to life after athletics at the AuburnYOU Senior Send-Off workshop. The sessions also include professional guidance on mental health, nutrition, finances and alumni relations.
"The opportunity for me to get transparent and honest with a group of men and women who are sitting in seats that I used to sit in," said Eguae. "For me, it's everything. When I was going through my transition, it was tough at times. The negative self-talk.
"The resources, they're not going to ever be the same as when you're in sport. I had to recreate and reinvent myself. To be here now, that's why you go through the struggle. I'm just fortunate to be here. I've got so much to give, and I feel such a heavy burden to make sure that I empower everybody in the room."
Eguae, who works in medical sales in Chicago, told the student-athletes how he embarked on a new career after getting cut by an NFL team and not receiving an acting role for which he auditioned.
"The power is in the room," he said. "At 24, I fell into the negative spiral that my best day was behind me. I can't leave the room until everyone understands that, no matter what, because of what you've built at this university, because of who you are, your best day is in front of you."
Eguae plans to return to the Plains this season as Auburn celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the 2010 national championship season.
"It doesn't even feel like it was yesterday," he said. "It's crazy how fast time flies. Now, to be in a position to pour back into the student-athletes of today, getting a chance to meet a lot of these student-athletes for the first time.
"For so long, even when I was gone, I still knew the guys. Now, to be in a position to meet these guys for the first time - and they may know of me, and I, of course, watch them - it's a bond that's so special at Auburn. I just want to pay it forward like people paid it forward way before I came to this premier university."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer