We're back this year with a new installment of "Truckin' with the Tigers." Senior writer Jeff Shearer will give fans a look behind the curtain this season as he tags along with Auburn football for road games.
After five straight home games, the Tigers are making their first road trip of the season this weekend when they travel to Athens to take on No. 2 Georgia in the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on CBS.
Stay locked in here for updates from Auburn's trip throughout the weekend.
SATURDAY: MEET NATASHA SANDERSATHENS, Ga. – When former Auburn football players return to campus, one of the first people they see is Natasha Sanders.
Auburn football's director of recruit and alumni engagement/newcomer transition, Sanders builds relationships with student-athletes when they arrive on campus and maintains them after they leave.
"Being an Auburn alum and working here the past four years gives me the upper hand on knowing our recruits and their family members," she said. "I'm able to interact with them and help keep them connected to the program, inviting them back to events. With our NFL guys, being another liaison for them.
"For a lot of guys who transition into the league within the past few years, I know them from their time playing here, so I can be that familiar face for them when they come back on campus and make sure they know that Auburn is their home."
An Auburn University exercise science graduate from Montgomery whose cousin is NBA veteran JaMychal Green, Sanders worked as a student recruiter on the Plains, redirecting her career plans.
"That molded my life in flipping from being a physical therapist to focusing on working in sports, knowing there are opportunities where you can have an impact and represent Auburn," she said.
"Interacting with our previous players, getting them reconnected. The idea that I get to be one of the faces of the University, when it comes to engagement. I really enjoy telling my Auburn story, but now I get to be the arm to bring everyone back and reminiscing about their time at Auburn.
"Auburn is a place you have to feel. When you come on our campus, it's a feeling you get when you're here interacting with everyone. You have to come to Auburn and experience it for yourself. When we have everyone back on campus, I'm always trying to recreate that feeling of family and excitement, a place you know you can be yourself, we'll accept you and you'll fit right in."
FRIDAY: CFB HALL OF FAMEATLANTA – On their way to the team hotel in Duluth, Georgia, the Auburn Tigers stopped for a field trip Friday at the College Football Hall of Fame.
They explored 150 years of history, including interactive displays featuring Auburn's 12 Hall of Fame inductees such as Tucker Frederickson, Bo Jackson, Pat Sullivan and Terry Beasley.
"It was awesome to enjoy some time with the guys before we get ready for a big one tomorrow," said tight end John Samuel Shenker, who represented Auburn in July at SEC Media Days at the Hall of Fame along with head coach Bryan Harsin and teammates Tank Bigsby and Derick Hall.
Speaking of Hall, he showed off his straight-on kicking prowess at the Hall of Fame's turf field, harkening back to his middle school kicking days.
Other Tigers tested their broadcasting skills, offering play-by-play calls of famous college football plays.
"We did the play calls upstairs for big moments in the game," Shenker said. "That was pretty cool. You feel like you're a part of those big moments."
After the excursion, the Auburn caravan checked in at their Duluth hotel, the Tigers' first road trip after starting the season with five consecutive home games.
For team members who chose to attend, team chaplain Rev. Chette Williams invited Atlanta pastor Louie Giglio to speak at Auburn's chapel service before dinner and team meetings.
On Saturday, the Tigers will eat breakfast and a pregame meal at the hotel while reviewing the game plan and personnel groupings once more before departing for the 70-minute ride to Sanford Stadium in Athens to renew the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry.