Today is my birthday. I know, we all have them, and it beats the heck out of the alternative. Well, for me, it is a big one. I turned 50 today. Hard to believe, but it's true. I've seen 1/2 century, and I'm looking forward to seeing the other half.
I won't tell you what I wished for when I blew out my candles, but I will tell you
that with so many candles, I had time to wish for a lot of things before the fire and smoke set off the alarms. One of the things I wished for was a Rock. Which brings me to this story.
He was certain that Tony Mandarich would be the one. Speaking of the Michigan State giant, he said “Heck, he even got some votes for the Heisman Trophy!” In fact, Mandarich, the 6’6” 317-pound offensive tackle placed sixth in the Heisman voting.
But it was not to be for him on this day. Nor was it to be for Mark Stepnoski, the powerful guard from the University of Pittsburg.
No, because when the envelope was opened in the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Manhattan back in December, 1988, it was Tracy Quenton Rocker who had been voted the Outland Trophy winner as college football’s outstanding lineman for 1988. “I’m shocked. I’m surprised” was all Rocker could say. “I’ve been double teamed by offensive linemen all season, and I never expected this.”
It didn’t surprise his position coach, though. Wayne Hall, who was Auburn’s defensive-line coach, said of Rocker: “We didn’t do anything fancy to show him off, like moving him around. He was there at left tackle and the head coach of everybody we met said he was the best they’d ever played against. Of course, we also had a couple of other pretty good ones on the d-line with him.” Asked how he built Tracy Rocker into an Outland/Lombardi winner, Hall’s answer was simple and to the point. “I got out of his way.”
Frankly, it was pointless to move Rocker around. With Benji Rowland at nose guard and Ron Stallworth at right defensive tackle, Auburn had three all-conference defensive linemen opposing teams had to face.
Tracy Rocker was the one who struck fear into opposing coaches, though. When asked about Rocker following Auburn’s 20-10 dominance over Georgia in 1988, Coach Vince Dooley had only two words: “Sheer Dominance.”
Rocker’s 354 career tackles are the most by any Auburn down lineman in school history. He had 21 career sacks, and 48 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Quenton Riggins, who is now a color commentator for the Auburn Network, played linebacker just behind Rocker. He is quoted as saying, “Every week coach would fuss at me for not getting to the line to make a tackle. It was no use to fuss, but the truth is, Rock had them tackled before I could get there. It was just amazing to be behind him and see him dominate like he did.”
Well, today Tracy Rocker is coming home. He has been named the new Defensive Line coach for the Auburn Tigers. And if he can instill into the young defensive linemen anything of what he had when he was playing at Auburn, the defensive line should not be a concern.
One of Auburn’s greatest has come back home to coach. Welcome home, Tracy. Oh, and this was the very Rock I wished for.
So Happy Birthday to Me.
WJLaneSR
Monday, January 12, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Coaching Carousel
Waiting in line to receive a ticket from a bundled-up woman inside the big red cylinder shaped like a candle. Listening to the Christmas music bellowing through metal speakers. Walking across mushy sawdust evenly strewn across the Fairfax baseball field before climbing aboard the carousel centered over the pitcher’s mound. Finding the perfect horse and hopping on. Sometimes riding the inside horse. Sometimes riding the outside horse. Sometimes relegated to the middle horse. Racing the persons seated next to you. Never winning, but never losing. Always fun and exciting.
This was a Christmas tradition for all of us who called our home “the Chattahoochee Valley.” The annual Christmas Merry-Go-Round was not only a treat for youngsters, but for those young at heart as well. And this tradition continues even today, though at a different location.
My wife worked at a carousel when she was in high school. She heard the piped classical music and saw the hand-crafted horses and the smiling faces daily. She worked the Riverview Carousel at Six Flags over Georgia. Built in 1908, that carousel turned 100 this past year.
She always thought that getting engaged on that carousel while the music was playing and the horses were bobbing up and down might be the epitome of romanticism. I don’t really know about that, but I DO know it was not where we got engaged.
There’s another carousel taking place as well. This one has been called, appropriately I believe, the “Coaching Carousel.” And right now in the Southeastern Conference, it is in full force. Paul Gattis of the Huntsville Times even wrote an article about it this past week.
Borrowing some of his research, as well as my own observations, let’s climb aboard the carousel and look around.
Gene Chizik left Iowa State to become head coach at Auburn. Paul Rhodes left Auburn to become head coach at Iowa State. Ken Steele left Alabama to go to Clemson. John Chavis left Tennessee to go to LSU. Dan Mullen left Florida to go to Mississippi State. Ed Orgeron left the Saints, after leaving Ole Miss last year, to go to Tennessee.
You get the idea. Keeping up with the coaching moves is enough to make your head spin.
Like watching kids at a carousel. Sometimes climbing on the inside horse. Sometimes the outside. Sometimes relegated to the middle. Going up and down, and round and round. Only stopping long enough to let a new group on, while the old group scrambles for left-over and empty seats. And then the Merry-Go-Round begins again.
Just like college football.
WJLaneSR
This was a Christmas tradition for all of us who called our home “the Chattahoochee Valley.” The annual Christmas Merry-Go-Round was not only a treat for youngsters, but for those young at heart as well. And this tradition continues even today, though at a different location.
My wife worked at a carousel when she was in high school. She heard the piped classical music and saw the hand-crafted horses and the smiling faces daily. She worked the Riverview Carousel at Six Flags over Georgia. Built in 1908, that carousel turned 100 this past year.
She always thought that getting engaged on that carousel while the music was playing and the horses were bobbing up and down might be the epitome of romanticism. I don’t really know about that, but I DO know it was not where we got engaged.
There’s another carousel taking place as well. This one has been called, appropriately I believe, the “Coaching Carousel.” And right now in the Southeastern Conference, it is in full force. Paul Gattis of the Huntsville Times even wrote an article about it this past week.
Borrowing some of his research, as well as my own observations, let’s climb aboard the carousel and look around.
Gene Chizik left Iowa State to become head coach at Auburn. Paul Rhodes left Auburn to become head coach at Iowa State. Ken Steele left Alabama to go to Clemson. John Chavis left Tennessee to go to LSU. Dan Mullen left Florida to go to Mississippi State. Ed Orgeron left the Saints, after leaving Ole Miss last year, to go to Tennessee.
You get the idea. Keeping up with the coaching moves is enough to make your head spin.
Like watching kids at a carousel. Sometimes climbing on the inside horse. Sometimes the outside. Sometimes relegated to the middle. Going up and down, and round and round. Only stopping long enough to let a new group on, while the old group scrambles for left-over and empty seats. And then the Merry-Go-Round begins again.
Just like college football.
WJLaneSR
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)