AUBURN, Ala. – The journey to the Plains for senior offensive lineman Brenden Coffey has certainly been a step outside of his comfort zone.
"I chose Auburn because I wanted something new," he said. "I wanted a bit of a culture shock."
A native of Paradise, California, Coffey's collegiate football career began at Butte Community College in Oroville, California, just 13 minutes down the road from where he attended Paradise High School. Coming to Auburn in the summer of 2020, Coffey is now more than 2,500 miles from home.
While the commute to Auburn may have been long, it has not stopped him nor his family from feeling the electricity inside Jordan-Hare Stadium firsthand.
Coffey's favorite Auburn memory thus far is playing LSU at home during the 2020 season, the game in which he saw his first action in the orange and blue. Coffey's mother, Diane Setta, was also in attendance for the special moment.
"My coach came over to me and told me I was going in the next series," Coffey recalled, "so I looked up to my mom, waved, and yelled, 'I'm going in.' Not only did she see me and get excited, but a bunch of other people saw me, too. Someone even Tweeted about it.
"My mom has been there with me through everything, so I could not imagine being in that moment without her. She said it was one of her proudest moments as a mom. She was so happy to see me doing well and achieving my dreams."
Brenden Coffey blocks vs. Mississippi State in 2020
Achieving those dreams is a direct product of countless hours of hard work, supplemented by the resources available at an SEC school. Coffey knows that Auburn is equipped with the technology and the knowledge needed to elevate his game from one practice to the next.
"The coaches here always help you get to that next level of development," he said. "I thought I was already pretty strong and had a good skill set for the O-line, but our coaches here have helped me improve in ways I didn't even know were possible.
"I have never had this much control over my body or been able to push this much weight in the weight room. I'm also improving mentally, thinking differently than I have before. My coaches have helped me do all of that."
With a revamped perspective and added physical strength, Coffey is more than ready to get at it and apply his improved skills during the 2021 season.
Under first-year head coach Bryan Harsin's direction, Coffey and company will take the field at Jordan-Hare under new leadership for the first time since 2013. The Tigers are looking to channel that fresh, eager energy into their play beginning Sept. 4 against Akron.
"We know better now who we are and what we want, what we stand for," he said. "This year's team has so much discipline. We've defined what we stand for and set goals for what we want to achieve.
"I'm looking forward to our new dynamic and showing fans the new Auburn football. People are going to be shocked to see what we have to offer, and I know people will be pleasantly surprised by how we're going to play. We're ready to go out there and rock their world."
Because this is his last season of college football, Coffey is ready to go out with a bang and leave every drop of blood, sweat and tears on Pat Dye Field.
The journey for him has been one of many ups and many downs, making the adjustment from high school football to junior college to now playing Division I at one of the biggest schools in one of the most renowned conferences in the nation while also adapting to a pandemic in between. However, overcoming these tribulations is what makes the success that much sweeter for Coffey, a political science major who hopes to become a police officer "and protect people" following his football career.
"Tough, enlightening and memorable – that is how I would sum up my journey," Coffey said. "Even as a little kid, I wasn't amazing at football, but I knew that I wanted to work harder and be better. My advice to the kids who want to play on the big stage is that you're going to have tough days, but as long as you have family, a good support system and the drive to work harder each day, you will be unstoppable. Keep pushing through the obstacles and good things will come your way."
Coffey thanks his mother, Diane, as well as his current coaches and former coaches Robbie Snelling, Rick Prinz and Austin Kirally for making him the person and the player that he is today.
"Football has shown me that I could be so much more in life," he said. "I don't know where I would be without it."
Tucker Cleverdon is a student worker with Auburn Athletics media relations