"Truckin' with the Tigers" is back this year. Senior writer Jeff Shearer will give fans a look behind the curtain this season as he tags along with Auburn football for road games.
This week, Auburn takes on Mississippi State in Starkville where the Tigers will be led by interim head coach Carnell Williams. The game is at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Stay locked here for updates from Auburn's trip throughout the weekend.
SATURDAY: MEET REILLY WOOTENSTARKVILLE, Miss. – Having just celebrated her 20th birthday in 2019, Reilly Wooten pursued a summer internship with Auburn football in player personnel.
She was hired on the spot and ended up staying for two and a half years.
"I honestly didn't know what player personnel was," recalled Wooten, Auburn football's assistant coordinator of on-campus recruiting. "Worked the whole summer, camps, recruiting events. The season was about to start and I just stayed.
"I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I have cut so much film. It kept me busy. I could do it all day long."
Reilly also became an Excel expert, creating spreadsheets by the hundreds.
"It's a busy lifestyle," she said. "I worked seven days a week. It does not stop."
Having proven herself as a student worker, Wooten earned a position as a graduate assistant.
"A big blessing," said Wooten, who earned her Auburn University master's in adult education in December 2021 and her bachelor's in media studies in 2020. "Player personnel holds a special place in my heart. I was always the only girl. I learned a lot about football."
Soon, the GA who once didn't know what player personnel consisted of was now teaching other students.
"I taught people coming in how to cut film," said Wooten, who in February pursued an opportunity to transition to her current role in on-campus recruiting.
"I want everyone who walks in that room to feel the culture around Auburn," she said. "I want them to know they're welcome here."
Wooten helps host prospective student-athletes and their families, and works gamedays, Junior Days and other recruiting events including official and unofficial visits.
"This has been my favorite place since I was born," she said. "I hope I can let people know why I love Auburn and get them to feel the same way about it and show them how the Auburn family makes people feel when they come on campus."
Wooten's mother graduated from Auburn University in 1992. Twenty-five years later, she accompanied Reilly on a campus tour.
"I know this is where you're supposed to be," Reilly remembers her mother telling her.
"When I was little my dad would bring to Tiger Walk," she said. "I still remember what I wore to my first Auburn game. I was probably 5 or 6. In sixth grade I made up my mind that I was coming here.
"It was always my dream school. We would drive up on Sundays to see Toomer's after big wins. I always knew I wanted to be around athletics."
For other students who want to work in college football, whether in player personnel or recruiting, Reilly Wooten offers this advice.
"Get ready for a whirlwind," she said. "It's all worth it in the end."
FRIDAY: CADILLAC IN CHARGE AUBURN, Ala. – At Auburn dreams come true.
That's the message Carnell Williams wants to send to recruits, to fans, to anyone who hears it.
Friday afternoon, as he had done 24 times as a student-athlete from 2001-04 and 20 times as an assistant coach since 2019, Williams exited the Auburn Athletic Complex to board a bus for a football road trip.
🏈 @AuburnFootball Reverse Tiger Walk on the way to Starkville. 🐅 #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/wb1TxvROP0
— Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) November 4, 2022
This time was different.
Carnell Williams, Cadillac to a generation of Auburn fans, "Coach Lac" to the running backs he coaches, sat in the first row on bus No. 1, the seat reserved for the head coach.
"I'm excited, honored," Williams said while walking to the bus. "I'd be lying if I said it was a dream come true because I never dreamed this."
Asked to lead the program for which he starred and helped achieve an undefeated, SEC championship season in 2004, Williams raised his hand. Here am I, send me.
"Now that it's here, I'm just ecstatic," he said. "This institution has afforded me everything in my life. It changed the whole trajectory of my life, so now the opportunity I get to serve these young men, lead in the position and give back, we are doing this for the Auburn family."
Much of Auburn's Friday itinerary remains unchanged. A short flight from Columbus, Georgia, to the Golden Triangle Regional Airport 16 miles east of Mississippi State's Davis Wade Stadium. Offense, defense and special teams meetings, dinner, an optional chapel service, treatment and cold tubs.
Saturday night in Starkville, Williams will make history, becoming Auburn's first African-American head football coach. While appreciating the magnitude of the moment, Williams emphasized throughout the week that it's not about him. It's about Auburn, honoring those who came before by competing relentlessly.
"We are ready to rock, buck up, play hard-nosed good football," he said. "We're excited."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer