Auburn's Nosa Eguae chips in to support Operation Smile

AUBURN, Ala. – When Auburn fans load up on snacks for Saturday's season opener, they might notice a former Tigers standout smiling at them from the grocery cart.

Nosa Eguae, a defensive lineman on Auburn's 2010 national championship and 2013 SEC championship teams, graces the bags of three flavors of Lay's potato chips in a campaign that benefits an international medical charity.

"I never thought my face would be plastered all over chip bags in the snack aisle," Eguae said.
 Former Auburn standout Nosa Egua smiles from the potato chip aisle
In January, Lay's began searching for what it calls "Everyday Smilers," people who brighten their communities.

A friend of Nosa's in Texas encouraged Eguae to apply after learning of the campaign through another friend who worked for Lay's.

Two months later, Lay's chose Eguae as one of its 30 finalists. The week he was scheduled to fly to Dallas for a photo and video shoot, the coronavirus pandemic changed the plan.
"We ended up doing the entire photo shoot and interviews remotely," said Eguae, who used video and lighting equipment Lay's sent to create his own media assets. "We conducted the production from our living room and from our home offices."

A business manager in Baxter International's advanced surgery division in Chicago, Eguae volunteers at schools and helps athletes transition to their careers after sport.

"My goal in life, my mission is to impact people," he said. "At Auburn I learned from Coach Malzahn that a platform is better leveraged for the impact of other people. It really opened my eyes just how much influence we can have on people."

Lay's will donate up to $1 million from its sales to Operation Smile, which provides free surgeries for those born with cleft conditions or other facial differences. 

"The work they do is incredible," Eguae said. "An organization that literally puts smiles on kids' faces across the world."

Last week, Eguae entered a drug store to pick up snacks to serve to friends who were coming over to watch football.

That's when he noticed himself on the bags of Lay's dill pickle, cheddar jalapeno and sea salt poppables.

"A really cool experience," he said. "I took a bunch of pictures. I'm smiling from ear to ear thinking about it.

"When I was checking out, even with my mask on, the cashier recognized me and asked if that was me, and I awkwardly said yes."

Nosa had no say in which flavors he was assigned. If he had, you'd see him on the sour cream & onion bag.

"Sour cream would have been amazing, but it's okay, I'll settle for my dill pickle," he said. "They're introducing me to some new ones, so I'm trying dill pickle for the first time, I'm trying jalapeno cheddar and the sea salt poppables. It's awesome to be a part of it."

Athlete, medical sales professional, community servant, entrepreneur, motivational speaker.

Nosa Eguae is all that and a bag of chips.

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer