It hurt when Rodney Garner turned Auburn down more than once to return to his alma mater.
It hurt when Tracy Rocker left to go to the NFL.
It hurt when Travaris Robinson bolted to South Carolina after just one season back on The Plains.
This one though — Dameyune Craig taking an air-boat to LSU — hurt more.
Garner, Rocker, and Robinson all had understandable reasons, of course, for making their decisions: job security, fulfilling a dream to coach at the sport’s highest level, and a promotion, respectively. But that’s not why Craig, making only a lateral move — to a division rival no less — hurt more.
As naive as it sounds, a lot of Auburn fans believed Craig was different.
While Garner, Rocker, and Robinson each had stellar playing careers as Auburn Tigers — Rocker in particular — Craig was our quarterback. Leading Auburn to victory in ‘96 and ‘97, many times seemingly by sheer will and extreme athleticism alone, was something fans never forgot.
Simply put, Craig is an Auburn icon who is beloved, respected, appreciated. But not all of that is due to his talents on (or off) the field.
Back to naiveté: At least some of it was due to Auburn fans believing that Craig got “it.” He understood what we understand. He felt what we feel.
He would never do what we would never do — and we would never leave Auburn if we didn’t have to.
When Craig joined Auburn prior to the 2013 season, I can’t remember an assistant coach’s hiring ever being so unanimously celebrated by fans. Short of Bo Jackson deciding he wanted to join the Auburn staff, I don’t think there is any other former player a fan would have been more in favor of than Craig.
The rumor mill was whirring a few months before Signing Day about Craig possibly moving on to Georgia after the season — or at least of there being mutual interest. Despite knowing that Craig is an extremely respected and coveted SEC assistant coach, the vast majority of Auburn fans quickly dismissed such talk. Why? Because Craig is different. He gets “it.” He understands what we understand. He feels what we feel.
He would never do what we would never do — and we would never leave Auburn for a rival program and yearly opponent.
Signing Day comes and goes, and Craig signs a truly remarkable wide receiver class, especially considering Auburn’s dismal offensive performance in 2015. He then goes on a Twitter tear, posting Auburn graphics and “WDE for life” (all have since been deleted) more than once. This merely cemented what we already knew — that he wasn’t going anywhere and, on the contrary, was just getting started.
A week later, that familiar whir could be heard yet again — this time it’s LSU after Craig.
Even though Auburn fans know Craig would never do what we would never do, some actually do get nervous because Auburn and Craig being together is almost too good to be true. Still, we know that isn’t about to change — because Craig definitely wouldn’t leave Auburn, much less for an SEC West rival, especially without a promotion being involved — but we always get uneasy when wonderful things are even the slightest bit threatened at Auburn.
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But then it was official.
The Auburn icon who got “it,” who understood what we understand, who felt what we feel, who would never do what we would never do . . .
Well, as it turns out, Craig would — and did — do what we would never do.
He was just like Garner, and Rocker, and Robinson, and everyone else.
That’s why this one hurt more.
Not because Dameyune Craig won’t be coaching at Auburn next season.
But because, in the end, he wasn’t different after all.