Auburn Family Football Preseason Kickoff a 'dress rehearsal' for season opener

Auburn Family Football Preseason Kickoff a 'dress rehearsal' for season openerAuburn Family Football Preseason Kickoff a 'dress rehearsal' for season opener

Derick Hall

AUBURN, Ala. – Cedric Hall says he's been an Auburn fan from birth.

"Since the Auburn blanket got wrapped around me," said Hall, a native of New Site, Alabama, near Alexander City who moved to Auburn 10 years ago.

Hall brought his children with him to the second annual Auburn Family Football Preseason Kickoff presented by Golden Flake Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Prior to the Tigers' practice, the Halls joined hundreds of fellow Auburn fans on the east stadium green space where they met Aubie, listened to the Auburn University Marching Band and watched routines by the Auburn Cheerleaders and Tiger Paws.

"We're out here enjoying the festivities before the practice, trying to see what the Auburn Tigers are going to look like this season," Hall said. "They loved the bounce houses and the face painting and now they're excited about going to see the game."

The event also included tailgate games and giveaways of posters and schedules.

Inside the stadium, the Tigers practiced for 14 five-minute periods, although the final period lasted considerably longer to allow more players the opportunity to compete in a non-tackling scrimmage.

Associate AD and football chief of staff Brad Larrondo served as public address announcer, describing the characteristics of each practice period.

"The purpose of this event is to get the fans excited about the season opener," said Larrondo, between periods. "It also gives the players a chance to play in the stadium, the setting we'll be in next week when we play Mercer, and have some crowd noise, put on the uniforms, a little bit of a dress rehearsal.

"A lot of excitement for the season, five straight home games. We've got to get (the fans) into season form right off the bat. This allows them to get a practice under their belt."

For the past three weeks, the Tigers have been preparing for the 2022 season, Auburn's second under head coach Bryan Harsin.

"There's a really good synergy with this team right now," Larrondo said. "They've worked hard during fall camp, going into preps for Mercer right now. There's a lot of guys who feel the chemistry of this team coming together. A lot of talented players.

"I think now it's time to do it on the field against somebody else. They're tired of hitting themselves. There's one week until the next game and it's a chance to get on the field and have a scoreboard measure you at that point. A really strong vibe right now."

The Hall family is part of that vibe. They'll be back next Saturday when the Tigers host Mercer at 6 p.m. CT in the season opener.

"We're ready. We're pumped," Cedric said. "We're excited and we're ready to go."


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