< PreviousSenior defensive back Devin Guice grew up an Auburn fan and had the dream of playing college football for the Tigers from an early age. He attended his first A-Day game in 2004, and that passion only grew over the next four years as he watched his cousin Eric Brock suit up at safety for Auburn. A native of Opelika, Guice starred at nearby Opelika High School, right down the road from campus. The spirit of Auburn drew him in from the start. In 2016, Guice took the first step toward his dream when he was accepted to Auburn and started in the School of Forestry. Though he wasn’t initially offered a scholarship to play foot- ball, he was offered the opportunity to walk on to the team as a freshman that fall. He gladly accepted. “Football gave me the opportunity to network within peo- ple in the forestry field. It helped me find my footing,” Guice said. “Coach [Gus] Malzahn and the other coaches really harp on the fact that we’re more than just football players. Educa- tion is very important.” The challenge of balancing football and academics hit Guice hard his junior year. “I had a lab every single day during football practice, so I would often be late to practice,” he said. “I would still have to remember the game plan, but I didn’t have the same time- frame the other players had to learn it. I would have to come to practice and learn on the fly.” It was difficult for Guice, but he learned to internalize the information during drills, remember it, and write it down after practice so he could recall it during game preparations. That same year, prior to the first game, the local walk-on was awarded a full scholarship from Malzahn along with teammate James Owens Moss during fall camp. The two were teammates at Opelika High School and walked on together at Auburn. However, it didn’t take a scholarship for Guice to make an impact. As a redshirt freshman in 2017, he saw action against Ole Miss and Arkansas and made his first tackle against Ole Miss. The following year, he played against Alabama State and Liberty and recorded his first tackle for loss in the Music City Bowl victory over Purdue. “The coaches at Auburn choose you because you are a part of the team,” Guice said. “They will never make you feel left out. So if you do decide to walk on and you put in the work, you will have the same chance to play as everyone else. If you do walk on, don’t come here just to get the gear. Come here to make the team better because you are a factor in making that happen. “You have to understand that this is the biggest decision you will ever make and choosing Auburn will be the best decision. It will be the best decision not only for athletics, but for academics, too. Our coaches make sure you are a well-rounded Auburn Man by the time you graduate.” This season will be the last for Guice on the football field, but off it, he’s just getting started. He received his bachelor’s degree in Forestry in May and is currently working to obtain a second under- graduate degree in Sustainable Biomaterials and Packaging. After football, he hopes to work in that field with an athletics apparel company. From an undersized walk-on from Opelika to an Auburn football letterman and team contributor, Guice is an inspiration and has made the most of his opportunity at Auburn. It truly has been a dream come true. “My dad would always tell me, ‘If it’s for you, it’s for you. If God willed it to happen, it will happen, and nobody can take it away.’” SENIOR SPO TL IGHT: DEVIN GUICE 51 SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: DEVIN GUICE BY VIRGINIA COOK A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M ‘Nobody can take it away’THROUGH THE LENS: A T SOUTH CAROLINA 53 THROUGH THE LENS: AT SOUTH CAROLINA A UBURNTI G ERS.C O MTHE OFFICIAL HOME FOR AUBURN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS and SPORTSCALL TIGER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. 2514 South College Street, Suite 104 • Auburn, AL 36830 334.887.9999 127443-19 TIger Communications_Auburn Football Illustrated Ad.indd 18/13/19 11:48 AMDEFENSIVE B A CKS 55 (continued from page 23) “My freshman year everything was new to me,” said Sherwood. “As I started my second season last fall, it all clicked for me. Being in the same system with Coach Steele help me a lot. You have to be able to think fast and play ball.” Through Auburn’s first four games, Sherwood led the secondary and ranked third on the team with 30 tackles, which comes as no surprise to defensive coordinator Kevin Steele. “Jamien may be one of the best tacklers I’ve ever seen in the secondary,” said Steele, a veteran of four decades in college and professional coaching. “He’s that talented with his balance and body control. If he stays healthy and keeps the mindset he has, he can be very, very special.” Defensive backs coach Wesley McGriff – “Coach Crime” as the players refer to him – sets the tone each week leading up to Saturday. “He’s very intense on how we work at practice,” Sherwood said. “He’s hard on us at practice. He always talks about keeping the top on the coverage. That’s our main goal, never let anything get behind us.” Auburn defensive backs continue to make a name for themselves in the NFL. Jonathan Jones has won two Super Bowls in New England. Philadelphia’s Rudy Ford is in his fourth pro season. Tampa Bay teammates Jamel Dean and Carlton Davis rank first and second in passes defensed so far in in 2020. Thomas is a rookie at Jacksonville. Neiko Thorpe, a member of Auburn’s 2010 national championship team, has played the past five seasons in Seattle. The Mi- ami Dolphins picked Noah Igbinoghene in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. With Igbinoghene’s departure, Roger McCreary assumed the role as the Tigers’ most seasoned cornerback. In Auburn’s season-opening win against Kentucky, McCreary’s interception at the end of the first half changed the game’s momentum. Tutt, who plays the star position as Auburn’s fifth defensive back, also em- braces his role on special teams as the Tigers’ punt returner. Auburn’s coaches have a saying: “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.” Jaylin Simpson earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors after breaking up a pass and making four tackles against Kentucky. Others such as sophomore Nehemi- ah Pritchett and freshmen Zion Puckett and Ladarius Tennison are readying for their turn to impact Auburn’s secondary. “We really want to be known as the best secondary to come through, we want to be known as the most dominant because all around the board at every spot we have amazing players,” Peters said. “Coach Crime is always emphasiz- ing we are athletes of the world, that’s how we come every day to practice, workouts and games. We want to bring that mentality that nobody can stop us.” VERSATILE AUBURN DBs CONTRIBUTE TO SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M Jamien Sherwood Smoke MondayAUBURN - ATLANTA pursuitengineering.com Your Local MEP Design Firm Currently Hiring Experienced ME’s & EE’s Boatner Builders, LLC. 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DA GALLERY NOW OPEN • 7 DAYS A WEEK 1409 S COLLEGE STREET, SUITE 102 • AUBURN 36832 334.521.5067 ) Auburn FB 20.indd 3Auburn FB 20.indd 38/18/20 12:16 PM8/18/20 12:16 PMHEISMAN TROPHY 57 HEISMAN TROPHY A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M Bo Jackson 1985 Winner Cam Newton 2010 Winner Pat Sullivan 1971 WinnerA UBURN AL L -AMERICANS 59 n In 1932, halfback Jimmy Hitchcock made Auburn history by becoming the first player to earn All-America honors. Eighty-seven years later, Derrick Brown continued the legacy of Auburn greats by becoming an unanimous All-American on eight separate lists. The first Tiger to earn unanimous recognition in three decades, Brown was placed on the Sporting News, ESPN, the Athletics, CBS, Associated Press, Walter Camp, Football Writers Association of America and AFCA FBS Coaches first teams. n Seventy-one Tiger Players have combined for 80 All-America Honors. End Jimmy Phillips is Auburn’s most celebrated All-American, making 11 teams in 1957. Pat Sullivan, Terry Beasley, Bo Jackson and Tracy Rocker were each named to 10 teams in a single season. n Auburn has had 22 seasons with multiple All-Americans and nine season with three or more. AUBURN ALL-AMERICANS A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M AUBURN ALL-AMERICA LIST Year ........Player ........................................ Pos. 1932 ..........Jimmy Hitchcok ..............................HB 1937 ..........Walter Gilbert ..................................... C 1942 ..........Ray "Monk Gafford ........................HB 1944..........Caleb "Tex" Warrington .................. C 1949 ..........Travis Tidwell ....................................QB 1954 .........Jim Pyburn ............................................E 1955 .........Frank D'Agostino ................................ T ....................Joe Childress .....................................FB ....................Fob James .........................................HB 1957 ..........Jimmy Phillips ......................................E 1958 .........Zeke Smith............................................G ....................Jackie Burkett ..................................... C 1959 .........Zeke Smith............................................G ....................Ken Rice.................................................. T 1960 .........Ken Rice.................................................. T ....................Ed Dyas ................................................FB 1963 ..........Jimmy Sidle .......................................QB 1964 ..........Tucker Frederickson ......................FB 1965 .........Jack Thornton ...................................... T ....................Bill Cody ..............................................LB 1967 ..........Freddie Hyatt .......................................E 1968 ..........Dave Campbell .................................... T 1969 ..........Buddy McClinton ............................... S 1970 ..........Larry Willingham ............................DB ....................Terry Beasley .................................E/FL ....................Pat Sullivan ........................................QB 1971 ...........Pat Sullivan ........................................QB ....................Terry Beasley ....................................WR 1974 ..........Ken Bernich .......................................LB ....................Mike Fuller ............................................. S 1976 ..........Neil O'Donoghue ............................PK 1981 ...........Keith Uecker ..................................... OT 1982 ..........Bob Harris ..........................................DB 1983 ..........Bo Jackson ........................................ RB ....................Donnie Humphrey ..........................DT 1984 .........Gregg Carr .........................................LB 1985 .........Bo Jackson ........................................ RB ....................Lewis Colbert .......................................P ....................Ben Tamburello .................................. C 1986 .........Brent Fullwood .................................TB ....................Ben Tamburello .................................. C 1987 ..........Aundray Bruce..............................OLB ....................Tracy Rocker ......................................DT ....................Stacy Searels ..................................... OT ....................Kurt Crain ............................................LB 1988 .........Tracy Rocker ......................................DT ....................Walter Reeves ................................... TE ....................Benji Roland .................................... NG 1989 ..........Ed King ...............................................OG ....................Craig Ogletree ..................................LB 1990 .........Ed King ...............................................OG ....................David Rocker .....................................DL 1993 ..........Terry Daniel ...........................................P ....................Wayne Gandy .................................. OT 1994 ..........Brian Robinson ................................DB ....................Frank Sanders .................................WR ....................Chris Shelling ...................................DB 1997 ..........Victor Riley ........................................ OT ....................Takeo Spikes ......................................LB 2001 .........Damon Duval .......................................K 2003 ........Karlos Dansby ...................................LB 2004 ........Marcus McNeill ............................... OT ....................Carlos Rogers ...................................DB ....................Junior Rosegreen ...........................DB ....................Carnell Williams .............................. RB 2005 ........Marcus McNeill ............................... OT 2006 ........Ben Grubbs ......................................OG 2010 .........Nick Failey ..........................................DT ....................Cam Newton ....................................QB ....................Lee Ziemba ....................................... OT 2011 ..........Steven Clark ..........................................P 2013 .........Chris Davis .........................................CB ....................Tre Mason .......................................... RB 2014 .........Reese Dismukes ................................ C 2016 .........Carl Lawson ...................................... DE 2017 ..........Daniel Carlson .....................................K ....................Carlton Davis ....................................DB ....................Jeff Holland ....................................OLB ....................Braden Smith ................................... OL 2020 ........Derrick Brown ...................................DT Carnell Williams Karlos Dansby Stacy SearelsNext >