Former Auburn football DT Montravius Adams knows that not every stadium ovation hits the same.
After experiencing a four-year career that segued into being selected in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Adams learned that the NFL is a much different place with a much less communal feel.
Green Bay, Wisconsin, his first NFL home, didn’t provide him with the opportunity to feel embraced in a way reminiscent of Auburn. Foxborough/Boston, Massachusetts, and New Orleans also failed in that regard.
But the Steel City has not, and Adams doesn’t want to lose that, as he told AL.com’s Mark Inabinett:
"“It’s ironic I have on this Auburn shirt,” Adams said at a postseason press conference, “because since I’ve been in the league I haven’t felt that family feel since I left Auburn. This is the place where I felt it at, and I just, as a player, felt like you don’t want to lose that. It kind of comes with a lot of stuff like morale and confidence. A guy people feel like couldn’t play could be the next guy up. At the end of the day, you just got to keep doing your job, and that’s what I want to do.”"
There’s no place like Auburn, especially as an Auburn football player
As much as the media likes to rag on Bryan Harsin, and as much as the Auburn University Board of Trustees likes to submarine East Central Alabama’s biggest cash-cow entity, the program will always have experiences from players like Adams.
In return, recruiting will always have a natural leg up on their main rivals in the SEC, particularly on the team up north and the reigning national champions. The NIL seals the deal (I mean that somewhat literally) on why players will always flock to the Plains.
Because there’s always been something special about Auburn. It gets into your soul and never leaves you.
Ever.