'That's what's special about Auburn': football lettermen enjoy return

'That's what's special about Auburn': football lettermen enjoy return'That's what's special about Auburn': football lettermen enjoy return

March 31, 2018

By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com

AUBURN, Ala. - Harold Morrow remembers what it was like when former Auburn players returned to watch his team practice.

"I remember playing and Kevin Greene and all of those NFL guys would come back when they had an off week, or in the spring," said Morrow, an Auburn running back from 1992-95. "You kind of want to be seen by those guys. We knew they paid the price, and it adds a little extra to the practices."

Morrow joined 250 Auburn football lettermen Saturday at the Tigers' second spring scrimmage, the largest turnout in the six springs head coach Gus Malzahn has hosted this event.

"I'm just so thankful that the program still looks after all of the players. We get back down here and have a great time seeing guys we haven't seen in years," said Morrow, a national account manager for a beverage distributor in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "It's an awesome thing. That's what's special about Auburn, a real family."

Morrow will return from South Florida this fall to help his daughter, Haven, move in to her residence hall.

"Very exciting year for us, because we're going to have a freshman here," he said. "I've got more reasons to come to Auburn. I think next year, we're going to be really good. It seems like the coaching staff and everybody gels really well together. I'm so excited about the season. It's going to be amazing next year when we're out there doing our thing. It's a great opportunity to be able to be a part of this."

After the scrimmage, the former players ate lunch at Auburn Arena, where Malzahn thanked them for attending, introduced his coaching staff and previewed the 2018 season.

"It's very refreshing to see how much they've grown since we left here and last played. To see them get after it in the manner that they do, it's an awesome experience," said Otis Mounds, a defensive back from 1991-94. "We all decided to come back and show some love and really support what's going on here at Auburn."

An assistant coach at Akron under former Auburn coach Terry Bowden, Mounds was impressed by the Tigers.

"I think Coach Malzahn is doing an awesome job," Mounds said. "His record speaks for itself. I think there are nothing but great things that are going to come here in the future."

Another defensive back from 1991-94, Fred Smith said the current players enjoyed displaying their skills for their predecessors.

"It's a wonderful thing. We didn't have this event when I was here. To see former players come back, it excites the players who are out there, knowing where we came from." said Smith, who has lived in Atlanta for the past 20 years working as an operation manager for a medical company.

"It means a lot to us, too, to come back and see where we came from, and where we were before," Smith said. "It's great."

Rev. Chette Williams, Auburn's team chaplain and a football letterman, speaks at Saturday's post-scrimmage lunch." style="width:100%; height:auto;" class="imported_image" legacy-link="http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/aub/sports/m-footbl/auto_a_storywidenew/13229657.jpeg"> Rev. Chette Williams, Auburn's team chaplain and a football letterman, speaks at Saturday's post-scrimmage lunch.

Several former Auburn quarterbacks attended, including 2010 Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton and Charlie Trotman, the former Auburn radio analyst who ran the Tigers' offense from 1977-79.

"I think it's important for all of the lettermen to feel welcome," said Trotman, who runs a commercial estate company and hosts a radio show in Montgomery. "I felt very welcome today. I've always felt welcome with Coach Malzahn's regime. He has these kinds of functions for us. We know that he doesn't have to open up practice, and that he doesn't have to invite the players back for a barbecue, and spend time with us.

"We're really honored that he would think of us in that way. Players who didn't play for him, who played for other coaches, he still embraces, and I think that's important."

Auburn football lettermen Marcus McNeill, left, and Jonathan Palmer with Letterman Club coordinator Michelle Keesee, who helped organize Saturday's event.



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