< Previous NEW C OMER Q&A: W ESLEY S TEINER 71 Q: What made you want to come to Auburn? A: The honesty with the coaches. Coach Travis Williams was very honest and their actions were genuine throughout the entire process and it felt right here. I felt led here. Q: Being from Georgia, how is it being close to home? A: It definitely helped with the decision. I am not going home as much as I would probably like to but that is just because we are in season right now and sometimes you just have to make the sacrifice a little bit. But being close to home definitely helped out. Q: What is unique about the linebackers? A: I think a unique aspect of it is the understanding of the whole defense that you have to have. You need to know how both the line and backs work and how you fit in the middle. For me, it has been a little bit of a challenge to try to adjust to the position so far. I moved around in high school. I started at running back as a sophomore and played both running back and linebacker as a junior. My senior year was more linebacker. The adjustment to the college level and being able to learn this new defense fully has been what I’ve focused on so far. Q: Which artists could the Auburn Family find you listening to before a game to pump you up? A: Drake. I like most things that Drake writes and creates so you’ll find a couple other songs here and there. Overall, my music taste is pretty spread out, lately I’ve been dabbling in classical music. Q: What are you looking forward to most about your Auburn experience? A: To grow as a person. They are training me really hard, which is a good thing. It is just going to refine me more over time. I am also trying to leave here with two degrees if I can. I just know the process is going to make me better, so I am looking forward to the growth that is going to be made over the few years coming up. Q: What is your biggest goal athletically while being a student- athlete at Auburn? A: Eventually, I’d like to win the Nagurski and Butkus awards. I just feel like that is something that is achievable, but I also know it is going to take a bunch of hard work and good coaching to get there. Q: What is your biggest goal academically while being a student- athlete at Auburn? A: I want to walk out of here with two degrees in pre-science education and business administration. Q: What is your goal after college with two degrees? A: I want to coach first and foremost. The pre-science education is so that I could be a science teacher because science is something I actually like talking about. If I was a teacher, I could make things a little easier for students to understand and want to come to learn. Coaching and teaching are no different, you’re just teaching something different. Q: What’s your all-time favorite movie? A: Mrs. Doubtfire. Q: If you could have dinner with any Auburn Legend, who would it be and why? A: Nick Fairley. He also won the Nagurski award. I’d like to ask him how did he approach life? How did he grow up and what are the things he has done after football that spoke louder than football? How’s football carried over there into the real world? Q: What’s your favorite aspect of football? A: Probably winning. Winning is really hard so when you put yourself out there and you help to contribute to a win you feel good about yourself and you go back to work and try to win again next week and win each day. Q: If you could pick one superpower, what would it be? A: Teleportation. It is just so you can save a lot of time getting places that you want to go to and you don’t have to wait in line. You can go straight home and that would be it. Q: What is one of your biggest life goals outside of football? A: Inspire people, help people, support people any way I can when possible. That is sharing the good word of Christ and that there is always hope for everyone on earth still and we can always be better than where we are now. Q: What is your favorite memory from high school ball? A: I think when we beat Peach County. This Peach County game was not a state championship or anything, but we played Peach County High School every year. They were always a good football team and they got a lot of guys that go on to college and go onwards. They always play really tough and that year we took them to overtime and pulled out a one-point victory. It felt like we won the Super Bowl after that. I know we will always remember that game because of the emotions going behind it. Q: Is there an athlete (collegiate or professional) that you look up to and why? A: Luke Kuechly. I’d really like to just have a good discussion with him because he’s achieved what I want to achieve. Between winning both the Butkus and Nagurski awards and also being a first round draft pick to having a successful career in the NFL and just being a good guy overall, I have a lot I would want to talk to him about. I just want to pry his brain a little bit and ask how he went about things so I could try to emulate them. NEWCOMER Q&A BY JEN DIETRICH A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M WESLEY STEINERAlabama Contract Sales, Inc. Auburn, Alabama P: 334.821.4500 www.alabamacontractsales.com COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL • INSTITUTIONAL SIDES DRYWALL, INC. 1937 WHATLEY ROAD, BLDG. C |AUBURN, AL 36830 | OFFICE: (334) 826-3264 Capt Shaun Chaplin Phone: 334-844-4355 Email: sdc0039@auburn.edu ROTC BUSINESS FRIENDS WORKING FOR THE FUTURE OF AUBURN Approximately 9 people die and 1,000 are injured every day in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. Sending or reading a text message takes your eyes off the roadway for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that is the equivalent of driving the entire length of a football field with your eyes closed. No text is worth a life. LeeCountyDA.org Discipline Drives the Process Finding Value is the Art www.brightinvestmentsllc.com 570 Devall Drive Suite 303 | Auburn AL 334.321.2321 Auburn FB 20.indd 4Auburn FB 20.indd 48/17/20 11:39 AM8/17/20 11:39 AMUNIVERSITY NEW S 73 It wasn’t the call he was expecting. After all, it had been over 50 years since he had fought to even gain admittance to Auburn University. “It was shocking to me because of the way I was treated,” the 87-year-old told BBC News recently. However, not one to hold grudges, Harold A. Franklin, the first African American to attend Auburn University, graciously agreed to come back and defend his thesis. The person on the other end of the phone call was Keith Hébert, associate professor and public history program officer. Hébert reached out to Franklin after learning about Frank- lin’s experience and the denial of his master’s degree. Hébert hoped Franklin would allow the department to set things right. “I felt a rush of emotions ranging from fear to excitement,” Hébert said about that initial call. “I was excited to reach out to someone whose activism has inspired so many generations of Alabamians. However, I worried that my efforts to make things right might have come too late.” Fortunately, Franklin proved that it is never too late to do the right thing. Franklin had graduated with honors from Alabama State College in 1962 and wanted to get a master’s degree in history from Auburn. When he applied, the university denied him admittance, so Franklin worked with civil rights attorney Fred Gray to file a class-action lawsuit against the university. On Nov. 5, 1963, Federal District Court Judge Frank M. Johnson ruled in favor of Franklin. However, that was not the end of the struggle for Franklin. After trying to work with the faculty in the Department of History to approve his thesis, Franklin said it was made clear to him that he was not going to obtain a master’s degree from Auburn. He left and went to the University of Denver, where he was eventually able to receive his master’s degree and earn a living as a history professor at Talladega College. Though he left Auburn in 1965, Franklin has been back to Auburn numerous times for speaking engagements. In 2015, he came to the university for the unveiling of a historic marker in his honor. Franklin also received an honorary doctorate from Auburn in 2001. In February 2020, just ahead of the pandemic, Franklin came to Au- burn to defend his thesis and finally receive approval for his master’s degree in history. “It was clear in our conversations that receiving the degree he had rightfully earned so long ago meant a lot to him, and to his family, friends, and supporters,” Hébert said. “The right to access a quality education, the very liberty that Harold had fought so hard to attain back in 1964, had been one of the bedrock beliefs that guided his life. For him to finally receive an apology for what had happened and to achieve the goals he had originally set brought a great sense of pride in what is pos- sible when we overcome our fears and do what is right.” A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M In February 2020, Harold Franklin came to Auburn to defend his thesis and receive approval for his master’s degree in history. Harold Franklin has returned to Auburn numerous times for speaking engagements. UNIVERSITY NEWS Franklin Paves Way for African American Students at Auburn BY VICKY SANTOS B AND, CHEER & TIGER P A WS 75 BAND, CHEER & TIGER PAWS A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M Marching Band Marching Band Director — Dr. Corey Spurlin Assistant Director of Athletic Bands — Dr. Nikki Gross Percussion — Dr. Doug Rosener Director of Bands — Dr. Rick Good Graduate Assistants Josh Singleton Natalie Smith Daniel Rodriguez Hayden Upperman Tiger Eyes Instructors Beth Bowman (coordinator/flagline) Jessica Coleman (majorettes) Lydia Mitchell (danceline) Tricia Skelton (flagline) Percussion Instructors Andy Martin Aaron Locklear Drum Majors Peyton Flowers Trace Johnson Millie Livingston T.J. Tinnin Tiger Eyes Captains Kelly Reynolds (danceline) Madeline Whitmer (majorette captain) Sydney Turner (flagline captain) Erin Greer (flagline co-captain) 2020-2021 Auburn Cheerleaders Anthony Bostany Elli Bradley, Co-Head Charlotte Dayton Cody Diemont Casey Doerer Gary Gray, Mic-Man Kacie Griffith Tanner Hendrix Caleb Kennefick Kathryn Lusk Rachel Lusk Murphy McCammon Cooper Monistere, Co-Head Cameron Monistere Caleb Moses Emmalyne Phillips Miracle Scott Nic Smith Izzy Smoke Matthew Tuttolomondo Britt Ware Latisha Durroh, Spirit Coordinator 2020-2021 Tiger Paws Catelyn Alexander Rae Brown Olivia Couchot - Captain Abigail Coleman Darby Hines Mary Hanlon Hunton Skylar Johnson Abbey Jones Ellie Korotky Evie Ann Owen Virginia Macoy Mary Hinson Mims Kate Richardson Lucy Rogers Emma Sanders Abby Smith Megan Smith Jessie Stevens Brooke Tarrant Amy Vaporis Helen Baggett - Coach2020 AUBURN TIGERS A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M PAYTON ANDERSON 37RB5-11 n 225 n RFr. 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