smootness
10-05-2014, 12:33 PM
I know probably all of this has been posted already in some form, and I know many of you go to many games, so my apologies. But yesterday was the first game I was able to attend this year, and I just wanted to point out my main thoughts.
1. The stadium is incredible. It's honestly mind-blowing that this is the same stadium as in past years. Completely different look, and it seems now like a legitimate place for big-time football. The two massive screens on opposite ends is crazy.
2. The atmosphere was unbelievable. And it was for an ELEVEN O'CLOCK KICKOFF. I can't even fathom what next week will be like. It was one big party, and I've never screamed so much in my life. That was due in large part to the way the game developed, but the fans did an incredible job of making a big impression on anyone who either watched SEC Nation or the game itself. I'm just now watching the broadcast, so I'll see how well it translated to the screen, but it was beyond impressive.
3. LOVED seeing the sidelines, especially the redshirting guys, throughout the game. It's fun when you see the players having fun as well.
4. Dak Prescott is the most unstoppable player in the country. Period. And he is the QB at Mississippi State. Just sit back for a second and think about that.
5. I thought both Graham and Myles looked really good in Lewis' absence, and both look like guys who could become big-time impact guys in the slot in the future. Given we don't even have guys like Donald Gray and Dear on campus yet, that is tremendously exciting.
6. This was a game yet again in which everyone did their job and played really well, but I want to single out a few that I noticed:
- Benardrick McKinney. He is going to play for so long in the NFL, given good health. There can not be a more impressive defensive player anywhere in America. He is so fast and so big and hits with such force. Once he gets to you, it doesn't matter who you are, you're going down quickly. His hit of their RB in the 2nd half coming off the edge was as good a clean hit as I've seen.
- Richie Brown. Obviously the 3 INTs were crazy, and he single-handedly took Kenny Hill out of the Heisman talk. But this is now the second huge game in a row where he has played great. McKinney will be a huge loss, but Richie will be a stud in his own right. He isn't the exact same kind of player, but he is always in the right spot and tackles so well.
- Beniquez Brown. I'm going all LBs here, but he shows up and makes plays so consistently. He will be the next great one. And he was the primary guy changing calls and getting people into position a lot of the time.
- Brandon Holloway. He finally got loose, I loved it. His speed is impressive.
- Will Redmond. I can't say he's our best corner because no one seems to want to test Calhoun. But he was always in the right spot, he recovered extremely well, and he will hit you hard. His hit on 82 was big-time.
7. Our secondary as a whole played so well. They got a lot of heat this week, and they stepped up and played Texas A&M exactly the way you have to play them: keep them in front of you, and get them on the ground once they catch it. Even the few times a WR shook the first guy, the next 2-3 were there so quickly, the WR often couldn't get more than 5 yards or so after the catch. And I know A&M dropped a lot of balls, but it absolutely had at least something to do with the way our secondary was hitting them once they caught it. We weren't making shoe-string tackles, we were laying licks, Redmond, Market, and Hughes foremost among them.
8. I want to save this for last because I was so impressed by it. Josh Robinson is my new favorite player, and it has little to do with what he does on the field, even though I think he's probably the most underrated player in the country. I can't tell you how impressed I was with him after the game when he came out of the locker room. He stood there for probably 30 minutes signing and taking pictures for anyone who wanted one. There were two guys in wheelchairs, and he found both of them, brought them together, and got pictures with them as well. It seemed like he knew both, so I'm sure they're around the program a lot, but I was touched by it. Then, after he disappeared for a while, he came back out, took some more pictures, then told a group of kids standing around to come with him. I was there with my brother and 6-year-old nephew, so we followed him, too. Where did he take them? Into the locker room and onto the field. Mullen and his wife were out there, and the kids got to just run around on the field for a while. It wasn't a difficult thing to do, but it meant that after a massive win, Josh Robinson was thinking about other people first. He just made a life-long memory for about 20 kids, and I know my nephew will never forget it.
I tapped him on the shoulder and said his name because I just wanted to tell him he played another great game, and he turned around, before I even said anything, with a huge smile on his face and gave me a hug. I was just wanting a handshake, yet he was having none of that. I know we have a lot of great guys on this team, guys like Dak, McKinney, Richie Brown, etc. But Josh Robinson impressed me more than I can express yesterday. If anyone knows him or talks to him, please pass along my appreciation for that and how much it meant to my nephew. It was something hardly anyone saw, yet he did it because he cared.
Yesterday was an unbelievable experience. Good luck, Auburn.
1. The stadium is incredible. It's honestly mind-blowing that this is the same stadium as in past years. Completely different look, and it seems now like a legitimate place for big-time football. The two massive screens on opposite ends is crazy.
2. The atmosphere was unbelievable. And it was for an ELEVEN O'CLOCK KICKOFF. I can't even fathom what next week will be like. It was one big party, and I've never screamed so much in my life. That was due in large part to the way the game developed, but the fans did an incredible job of making a big impression on anyone who either watched SEC Nation or the game itself. I'm just now watching the broadcast, so I'll see how well it translated to the screen, but it was beyond impressive.
3. LOVED seeing the sidelines, especially the redshirting guys, throughout the game. It's fun when you see the players having fun as well.
4. Dak Prescott is the most unstoppable player in the country. Period. And he is the QB at Mississippi State. Just sit back for a second and think about that.
5. I thought both Graham and Myles looked really good in Lewis' absence, and both look like guys who could become big-time impact guys in the slot in the future. Given we don't even have guys like Donald Gray and Dear on campus yet, that is tremendously exciting.
6. This was a game yet again in which everyone did their job and played really well, but I want to single out a few that I noticed:
- Benardrick McKinney. He is going to play for so long in the NFL, given good health. There can not be a more impressive defensive player anywhere in America. He is so fast and so big and hits with such force. Once he gets to you, it doesn't matter who you are, you're going down quickly. His hit of their RB in the 2nd half coming off the edge was as good a clean hit as I've seen.
- Richie Brown. Obviously the 3 INTs were crazy, and he single-handedly took Kenny Hill out of the Heisman talk. But this is now the second huge game in a row where he has played great. McKinney will be a huge loss, but Richie will be a stud in his own right. He isn't the exact same kind of player, but he is always in the right spot and tackles so well.
- Beniquez Brown. I'm going all LBs here, but he shows up and makes plays so consistently. He will be the next great one. And he was the primary guy changing calls and getting people into position a lot of the time.
- Brandon Holloway. He finally got loose, I loved it. His speed is impressive.
- Will Redmond. I can't say he's our best corner because no one seems to want to test Calhoun. But he was always in the right spot, he recovered extremely well, and he will hit you hard. His hit on 82 was big-time.
7. Our secondary as a whole played so well. They got a lot of heat this week, and they stepped up and played Texas A&M exactly the way you have to play them: keep them in front of you, and get them on the ground once they catch it. Even the few times a WR shook the first guy, the next 2-3 were there so quickly, the WR often couldn't get more than 5 yards or so after the catch. And I know A&M dropped a lot of balls, but it absolutely had at least something to do with the way our secondary was hitting them once they caught it. We weren't making shoe-string tackles, we were laying licks, Redmond, Market, and Hughes foremost among them.
8. I want to save this for last because I was so impressed by it. Josh Robinson is my new favorite player, and it has little to do with what he does on the field, even though I think he's probably the most underrated player in the country. I can't tell you how impressed I was with him after the game when he came out of the locker room. He stood there for probably 30 minutes signing and taking pictures for anyone who wanted one. There were two guys in wheelchairs, and he found both of them, brought them together, and got pictures with them as well. It seemed like he knew both, so I'm sure they're around the program a lot, but I was touched by it. Then, after he disappeared for a while, he came back out, took some more pictures, then told a group of kids standing around to come with him. I was there with my brother and 6-year-old nephew, so we followed him, too. Where did he take them? Into the locker room and onto the field. Mullen and his wife were out there, and the kids got to just run around on the field for a while. It wasn't a difficult thing to do, but it meant that after a massive win, Josh Robinson was thinking about other people first. He just made a life-long memory for about 20 kids, and I know my nephew will never forget it.
I tapped him on the shoulder and said his name because I just wanted to tell him he played another great game, and he turned around, before I even said anything, with a huge smile on his face and gave me a hug. I was just wanting a handshake, yet he was having none of that. I know we have a lot of great guys on this team, guys like Dak, McKinney, Richie Brown, etc. But Josh Robinson impressed me more than I can express yesterday. If anyone knows him or talks to him, please pass along my appreciation for that and how much it meant to my nephew. It was something hardly anyone saw, yet he did it because he cared.
Yesterday was an unbelievable experience. Good luck, Auburn.