![]() It was on that farm where Britton learned the value of hard work. It’s been in the family more than 100 years. The spark that drove Britton to Auburn might have been lit last November when he played at Jordan-Hare Stadium, but the origins can be traced back to that dream of playing in the SEC that began while he was growing up on his family farm in Conway, South Carolina. “Because the way I look at it, team success equals individual success.” “For me to do that, I have to be an All-SEC player, and we’ve got to win a lot of games,” he said. One of those goals reads, “Put myself in a position to make my dreams come true next April.” “Over time, I kind of adopted it and it’s who I want to be,” Britton said.īefore this 2023 season, Britton wrote down his goals on a whiteboard. The path for Gunner was always meant to be different. John Henry and Will both played football at Newbury College in South Carolina, but their football careers ended after college. It’s a dream that originated when Britton was just 5 years old, and his twin older brothers, John Henry and Will, told him he would play in the SEC and go to the NFL. It’s a blessing to me that I get to go practice football.” Now I come to a place like this, and I don’t take any day for granted. When you can see it fading away, it’s scary. “Year three comes around and you’re not playing? It’s like, ‘I've got two years left, and this might not work out.’ Every little kid wants to go play in the NFL. A lot of guys say they want to play in the NFL, but who are you when your dream is almost gone? “In a two-year span, I went from the lowest point in my life to one of the highest points getting to wear an Auburn jersey,” he said.” For me, that’s what motivates me. There was a point during that season he considered transferring to an FCS school. Until last year, he had only started four games – none in 2021. He started as a redshirt freshman in 2019, but injuries held him back. You never know how bad you want something until it’s almost gone.įor Britton, his dream of playing in the SEC and ultimately playing in the NFL was nearly gone two years ago while at Western Kentucky. Last week, he was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week following his performance in the team’s win over UMass to open the season. He visited Auburn in January, committed that same weekend, and the next week, he moved down to his new home.Įight months later, Britton is entrenched as a starter for the Tigers. Less than a month later, Britton received a call from Freeze. But that day after playing in Jordan-Hare Stadium, he told his dad, “I can play here.” “You mean the SEC?” his dad asked. If I can do it here, I can do it anywhere.”īritton didn’t choose Auburn right away when he entered the portal. This is the best talent in college football undoubtedly. “Like a lot of guys, when you come from a smaller school, the question mark is always, ‘Well, they did it and they did it at a high level, but they did it here.’ If you do it somewhere like Auburn, nobody can question you. I’m like, ‘If I can play against this guy, I can play against anybody.’ “Honestly, what made me decide, ‘OK, I should do this,’ was when I played Auburn and I played a dude named Derick Hall,” Britton said. That realization truly hit Britton the day Western Kentucky played at Auburn last November. However, as he kept playing better and better last season, he realized he could achieve one of his dreams – playing in the SEC. He was locked in as the team’s best offensive lineman for 2023. He could have stayed for his final season and possibly done enough to get drafted. Last year, he started every game at either left or right tackle, including the Auburn game, and earned Second Team All-Conference USA honors. It wasn’t the same experience, obviously, but it was on that day that his journey to Auburn began.īritton spent five seasons at Western Kentucky. Last November, Britton ran out of the visitor’s locker room at Jordan-Hare Stadium. If you watch some of the cams, I’m just looking around and trying to take it all in – 90,000 people are really here to watch us play. “I tried to take as much of it in as I could. ![]() For our fans, I don’t think they understand how much it means. “Knowing what that means and how much faith people have in us. “For the first time it kind of hit me – I truly am an Auburn Tiger,” said Britton, a graduate transfer from Western Kentucky who arrived in January. It was no different when he ran out of the home tunnel or when he blocked for Auburn’s first touchdown of the season, and 88,043 people roared all around him. He had never experienced anything quite like it. – As Gunner Britton walked through the sea of fans at Tiger Walk and into Jordan-Hare Stadium two weeks ago, he had to fight back tears.
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