Auburn’s 2011 signing class had high hopes.
It was only natural. The players came to the Plains three years ago on the heels of the program’s first national championship in 53 years with sky’s-the-limit potential.
Fate, however, had different plans. The Tigers went 8-5 in 2011 and then 3-9 last season, leaving that class wondering if it would ever be able to play for a championship.
Now as juniors, the Class of 2011 is one win away from its national title, having already won the SEC Championship and completed the biggest turnaround in conference history this season.
Entering this year, that class had an 11-14 career record. Now, it’s 23-15. What a difference a 12-1 run can make.
“It’s a feeling that you can’t really describe,” junior cornerback Jonathan Mincy said. “You just go out there with your brothers and you show your talents to everybody. We’re just embracing every moment of this and we’re just happy we have an opportunity to show the world that we can be the best team in college football.”
Even though the players might not have dreamed they’d be leading Auburn back to the national championship game this quickly — three years after winning it all in 2010 and one year after going winless in the SEC — there was hope.
“We knew this would be a rebuilding-type year,” junior tight end C.J. Uzomah said. “I don’t know if we thought instantly we would have this amount of success. But there wasn’t a doubt in our mind we would be able to get back up to this caliber in no time.”
For the 18 signees on Auburn’s roster from the 2011 class, this game was something they have talked about since they signed.
“The kids I came in with — Tre (Mason), Quan (Bray), Greg (Robinson) — we wanted to win a national championship and we wanted to have a repeat of the 2010 season,” Uzomah said. “And here we are, reliving it. So it’s truly a blessing.”
It’s not only been a roller-coaster ride for those third-year players, but also those who signed with Auburn since. Even if they wouldn’t let themselves stray too far in speculation, each of them knew this was a legitimate possibility since they saw Cam Newton and Co. do it in Glendale, Ariz.
“It would mean a lot because I never really pictured playing on the big stage like this,” junior-college transfer quarterback Nick Marshall said. “When I was young, I watched it on TV. As I’ve gotten older, I find myself playing in it and it’s just a dream come true. I’ve just got to take advantage of it.”
It surely didn’t happen by accident or chance, players said. Getting to Pasadena and the BCS Championship game against No. 1 Florida State on Jan. 6 required dedication and hard work, forged in the fire of last year’s dismal season.
“I saw when I first came in how hard they were working,” Marshall said. “So I just put my mind to it and we just took it and ran from there.”
It was a different attitude and outlook, with the foundation being laid by those players who wanted to get Auburn back to where they knew it could be.
“Coming off last year, nobody wanted to lose again,” sophomore receiver Sammie Coates said. “Nobody wanted to have that feeling of being the worst team in the league. When we came to the summer, everybody got together. We had seniors come in, talk to us and say that they don’t want what they had last year and they really helped us motivate.
“We just bought in, we fought together, we started coming closer as a team and that really helped us be together.”
