Auburn Tigers News: Luke Deal on his TD, Payton Thorne on preparing for Georgia
In today's edition of Auburn Tigers News, Luke Deal talks about his touchdown in the Oklahoma game and Payton Thorne has advice on preparation for the Georgia game
Though the Auburn football team ultimately lost to Oklahoma, there were some pretty big moments in the first half of the ballgame where things were going well. One of those big moments was a catch in the endzone by senior tight end Luke Deal.
In his sixth season of Auburn football, Deal is a two-time team captain and has played a big role on the team. When asked if he was expecting more routes after his big touchdown, Deal explained how he views his role on the team.
“No, no, it was a special thing," Deal said, per Auburn Live. "Being able to do that in front of the student section and my family. It was a big game and one where they recognized my dad passing away from ALS, so it was pretty exciting that it happened. It was a moment I won’t forget. At the end of the day, us tight ends, me specifically, our role, my role is to do what the team needs. If the team needs me to score a touchdown, they need me to score a touchdown. If they need me to play special teams, I’ll play special teams. If they need me to be an extra tackle, I’ll do that too. At the end of the day, whatever gets this team to win and be successful and feel what it feels like in the locker room after. That’s what my role is on this team.”
Payton Thorne has advice on preparation for the Georgia game
After five straight home games, the Tigers will take their first road trip this weekend to play one of the toughest teams in the country. The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry will be played in Athens this Saturday, and a lot of young players will be thrown into the fire in a hostile, SEC environment.
Senior quarterback Payton Thorne has been in a big game or two in his years of college football and offered advice for the players who will be taking their first road trip.
"Just that number one you can't act like it's not different, it is different," Thorne said, per Auburn Undercover. "You have to be aware of that before the game and go in there with anticipation and help those guys understand what they may see, what they may hear. But then also just to block it out.
"That's a lot easier said than done sometimes, but we're going to have practice with the noise all week I'm sure so they'll get used to that, but just going to have to have good communication and stay locked in with what we're doing."
The Tigers and the Dawgs will face off from Athens at 2:30 p.m. central time on Saturday.