Pate - The Way of the Athlete

Copyright 2015 by Rob Pate

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design: Richard Rossiter

All interior photos courtesy of the Auburn University Athletic Department.

ISBN: 978-1-62914-804-5

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63220-183-6

Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

I dedicate this book to the many influential coaches
who have built countless athletes into better people.

Special Thanks

To the many former teammates, coaches, friends, and fellow Auburn players of different eras, I am indebted to you for your significant contributions. Your stories and insight personalize each characteristic I discuss, and each of you has positively impacted my path along the way.

To Phillip Marshall, the undisputed and acclaimed voice of Auburn insight, I thank you for your prologue. Having covered countless Auburn athletes for decades, your view and commentary are immeasurably valued.

To my wife, Dana, for listening to my writing at all the various stages and encouraging me to finish what I started. Her prayers and support are unceasing.

To Kirk Sampson, associate athletic director/communications, and Scott Scoggins of Auburn Athletics for their willingness to help in this endeavor. Kirk is a longtime friend and the best in the business; he directed me to Scott for the photographs I needed. Scott sent me every single photo used in this book within fifteen minutes of me asking.

To the many coaches who chiseled away at my being, enhancing me in ways I never dreamed.

To my children, for your inspirationI love you!

To my parents, for their example.

Thank you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Phillip Marshall, Senior Editor, AuburnUndercover.com

The Role of Athletics in Future Success

Toughness and Work Ethic, by Kevin Yoxall

Biblical Winning, Leading, and Competing, by Randy Overstreet

Discipline, by Phillip Lolley

Travaris Robinson: An Example in Forgetting Failure

Impact of Coaching, by Reggie Torbor

Finding the QualitiesPlayers Impacting Coaches, by Jack Crowe

The Fragility of Life: The Inexplicable Death of Phillip Lutzenkirchen

Stubborn, Hard-headed, and Driven, by Ben Leard

A Perspective from the Black Athlete, by Stanford Simmons

Overcoming Adversity, by Jake Holland

Living with Diabetes as a Professional Athlete, by Kendall Simmons

Coaching: The Ability to Cripple or Create, by Heath Evans

How Athletic Principles have Strengthened my Faith, by Jason Standridge

The Death of an Angel, by Eddie Gran

Leadership, by Alex Lincoln

Importance of Communication, by Stan White

Footballs Personal Impact, by Ben Tamburello

Opportunity through Athletics, by Dameyune Craig

Loyalty, by Neil Caudle

The Lessons of Sport, by Dr. Gregg Carr

Respecting the Kicker, by Cody Parkey

Player Safety in Sports, by Jack Crowe

Seize the Moment, by Courtney Rose

FOREWORD

by Phillip Marshall

It was an introduction unlike any Joe Whitt, Auburns outside linebackers coach, had experienced. In early 1983, a young man hed never met walked into his office.

Hey, Coach, Im Kevin Greene and Im your starting outside linebacker, the young man said.

Pat Dye was heading into his third season as Auburns head coach. The Tigers would win the SEC championship later that year. Just making the team would be a challenge.

He looked the part, but I thought, This guy is out of his mind, Whitt said. More times than not, a guy will fall on his face. He didnt. You could tell the first day of spring practice that he was different. He didnt know anything about what he was doing, but he was tough and he was a banger. From there, the rest is history.

In 1983, Greene played outside linebacker behind Quency Williams and Gerald Robinson. Midway through his senior season in 1984, he became a starter. He led the team in sacks with 10, and won the Zeke Smith Award as Auburns Defensive Player of the Year. The Los Angeles Rams chose him with the first pick of the fifth round in the 1985 NFL Draft.

Greene played for the Rams, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Carolina Panthers. His flowing blond mane and ferocious intensity made him a star and a crowd favorite everywhere he played. He had double-digit sacks in ten of his fifteen seasons.

That wouldnt have seemed possible when Greene walked on to Auburns football team for the first time in 1980, and walked away a few weeks later.

Greene was a scout team halfback. Hed been late reporting because hed joined the National Guard, spending three months in basic training and attending military police academy. Hed started off behind, and had decided the time wasnt right. He told his coaches he was going to concentrate on his education.

Some three years later, a conversation between Greene and assistant strength coach Paul White changed everything. White, who worked out at Kaz Gym in Auburn, told Whitt hed seen a young man who wanted to play football and looked like he could. Whitt asked White to tell the young man to stop by and see him.

By that time, Greene had tested himself more than many of those who played. Hed moved from the National Guard to the Army Reserve, and was already a second lieutenant. Since hed last been on the field, Greene had grown from 202 pounds to 232. Hed gotten stronger, and had lost none of his speed and quickness.

You know what? I wanted it, Greene said. I wanted it more than other people. Ive always said I would go to war with a walk-on more than a scholarship player. A walk-on has to scrap for everything. Ive seen more drive, desire, passion and determination in walk-ons eyes than anybody elses.

The philosophy I live by is that, if you have fire in your heart, it will compensate for any lack of ability. Coach Whitt worked really hard with me. I think he saw that fire in my eyes and passion in my heart.

Greene didnt walk on at Auburn with thoughts of playing in the NFL. He just wanted to play. It was Auburn football, he said, that convinced him he could do it and taught him how to do it.

What prepared me for the NFL was the work ethic and hard-nosed, ass-kicking football I learned under Pat Dye, Greene said. What we went through in the spring was so violent and intense and physical. It was evident a couple of days into my first NFL training camp that I was rocking peoples worlds, because Pat Dye had us moving at another level and hitting at another level.

Growing up in a military family, Greene seldom lived in one place for a long time, but there were two constants in his life: love of country, and love of Auburn University. His parents had grown up near Aniston. His father had joined the army out of Jacksonville State University, but the Greenes were always an Auburn family. We had Auburn in our hearts, Greene said.