By Brenna Fowler
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. – As defensive lineman Andrew Williams enters his last semester and final season with the football team, his goal is pretty straightforward.
"I want to help make our defense the most dominating and feared defense in the nation," Williams said. "We have to make it all the way."
That quest to "make it all the way" begins in Atlanta at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium where Auburn saw its season come to an end with a loss in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl last year. But Williams and his teammates are determined to turn their fortunes against Washington in this year's Chick-fil-A Kickoff game and start this season the right way.
"Our first game is back in the place we lost," Williams said. "But it focuses on a real hunger to redeem ourselves. We have a sour taste in our mouths. We smelled the national championship last season. It's only up from here."
The last time Auburn won the SEC championship was in 2013, and everybody still remembers the "Kick Six" and the "Prayer at Jordan-Hare" from that season. For Williams, those two iconic moments played a major role in convincing him to sign with Auburn. At the time, he was a high school football standout, the Georgia state discus champion and the state runner-up in the shot put.
"That showed me a lot about fighting," Williams said. "Those two games were close games and those boys just kept fighting. I knew that if they had that fight in them no matter what circumstance, something good is going on here."
Williams adapted that same skill of perseverance throughout his college career – not just on the field, but in his everyday life.
"The biggest lesson I've learned (at Auburn) has been overcoming adversity," he said. "The greatest pleasure I get from things is when I have a hard challenge and I overcome it and become greater than I was before. College is a football game that you overcome in four quarters."
And while Williams will always cherish his memories on the field at Auburn, he is eager to enter the real world when he graduates in December with a degree in supply chain management. One of his many aspirations is opening his own gym because at Auburn, the campus recreation center is one of his favorite places to hang out on campus.
However, the Academic Top Tiger isn't ready to give up on his football career just yet. He's become a fixture in the defensive line rotation, playing in all 14 games last season and finishing with 38 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries.
"I hope for the opportunity to play in the NFL for years to come," Williams said.
The NFL will have to wait, though, because Williams still has one more season left at Auburn. And as one of three fifth-year seniors on this year's team, he's been able to mentor some of the younger players. All three fifth-year seniors – Williams, Dontavius Russell and Deshaun Davis – have the chance to be the "big brothers" to the rest of the team this year.
From meeting some of the incoming freshmen, Williams has already witnessed some of the ultimate growth they will experience in the years to come.
His advice for those freshmen?
"Everything you do, really do 100 percent. Do what you had to do to get here, because it will take you far in the long run."
Brenna Fowler is a student assistant in Auburn athletics communications.