AUBURN, Ala. – From the first time he stepped on a football field, Smoke Monday believed he was destined to one day play in the NFL.
"There was no doubt in my mind," he said.
Monday always had the physical traits, but it was the hard work instilled in him by his parents and the same hard work that carried over into his time at Auburn that has put him in a position next weekend to get drafted and turn his NFL dream into a reality.
As the Auburn Creed says, "I believe in work, hard work."
"That 'work, work hard,' it really tells you everything you need to know about Auburn," Monday said. "Blue-collar guys, guys who can fight to the end. Whether it be up or down, that's how I've always been since I since I came to Auburn."
Monday might be projected as a day three pick in the draft, but he's already had multiple NFL teams talking to him about his "high ceiling." As a senior, Monday finished with 63 tackles, nine tackles for loss, one interception and five pass break-ups. In four seasons at Auburn, he collected a total of 171 tackles and five interceptions.
But Monday's impact goes far beyond the stat sheet. He brought so much with his energy and his passion and his willingness to do whatever it took for the team.
"I want to be remembered by my hard work and how I played the game with so much passion," Monday said. "That's really what it comes down to. There are a lot of a lot of guys in Auburn speaking good on my name and saying what a great teammate I was. That's the most important thing for me is everybody saying how great of a teammate I was and how I sacrificed everything to make the team better.
"When you get older and when you have kids and your kids start to hear about it, that's always been something I wanted to be for myself and just have that love from every guy, every person I touched at Auburn. It's just a wonderful feeling."
When that phone call does come, Monday doesn't know how he's going to react. He might cry. He might just sit and stare at the TV while his name is called. Excited would be an understatement in that moment, a moment he's thought about his whole life.
Regardless of where he goes, Monday will always call Auburn home.
"Auburn is a place for special people, I believe," he said. "It was the place for me and I love it. I will always go back to my alma mater and cheer them on every week.
DRAFT ANALYSIS
Chris Trapasso, CBS (@ChrisTrapasso)
Monday should be picked by a club in dire need of energy on the backend of its defense because that's what Monday brings on every snap. While not the fastest or most athletic safety in this deep class, Monday counters with hustle and explosiveness to the football. His versatility will be viewed as a plus by teams. He's equally impactful in a traditional two-deep safety look or when he's given free rein to roam the middle of the field as a robber. Monday's length helps him against blockers and provides him a large pass-disruption radius. Damn good football player.
Dane Brugler, The Athletic (@dpbrugler)
Monday is an urgent player with quality run fits and aggressive angles to make impact plays as a run defender. However, he must improve his striking technique and anticipation in coverage. Overall, Monday is a long, athletic player with the competitive spirit that won't go unnoticed by NFL coaches, but neither will his inconsistencies and the questions about his best defensive position. At worst, he will be in the mix for an NFL roster spot thanks to his core special teams ability.SIGNATURE MOMENT
For Monday, his signature moment at Auburn came his sophomore year against Alabama. With the game tied late in the first half, the Auburn safety ranged over and intercepted an overthrown pass near the sideline. He made one cut back inside and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown, giving the Tigers the lead in what turned out to be a 48-45 victory.
"It was third down, so it was loud before the ball was snapped," Monday recalled. "But as soon as I caught it, the stadium erupted. It was so crazy.
"That is when I realized in my career that I can go out and compete with the best every weekend. That was just so great for me to have that moment with my teammates, knowing that we put in so much work to prepare for games like that. It was unbelievable."
It would be the first of three pick-6s in Monday's career at Auburn.