AUBURN, Alabama. – Wearing an Auburn jersey with the number 20 to match her son, defensive back JC Hart, Chyna Walker joined a line that stretched the width of a football field from the indoor practice field to the John H. Watson Fieldhouse.
“My son has been a huge Auburn fan since he was born,” Walker said Saturday at Fan Day presented by Golden Flake. “We grew up in Auburn and this is his dream school. For him to achieve his dream and play here is a huge blessing.”
At the Auburn Athletics Complex indoor facility, Hart, a redshirt freshman from nearby Loachapoka who has received high praise from coaches and teammates during preseason training camp, signed autographs and posed for photos.
“He’s so humble,” Walker said. “I knew what he was capable of. He was waiting for his chance. This year will be his year.”
Brian Cauble brought his 10-year-old son, Dylan, from their home in Birmingham for their first Fan Day. Dylan, who had a miniature Auburn helmet he wanted signed, came into the Cauble family through adoption hours after his parents attended the 2013 Kick Six Iron Bowl.
“It’s the Kick Six, it’s crazy,” recalls Brian, who has attended 22 Iron Bowls in a row. “We were leaving the stadium when I got a call from our lawyer saying the birth mother wanted to go through with the adoption, so we drove straight home to Birmingham to pick him up.”
Fans entered the stadium through a Tiger Walk by the Auburn cheerleaders before dispersing to get autographs from players grouped by position.
Photo opportunities included Cam Newton’s Heisman Trophy and the crystal national championship he helped Auburn win in 2010.
Auburn’s volleyball and soccer teams also signed posters and visited with fans. After the event concluded, the soccer team crossed Samford Avenue for its exhibition match against Memphis.
John Turner Faulkner, a sixth-grader from Pike Road, Alabama, attended Fan Day with his grandmother Julie Beard.
At the top of John Turner’s autograph wish list was new receiver Cam Coleman.
“I’ve heard great things about him,” said the 12-year-old. “I’ve seen film of him and I know he’s really good.”
John Turner is optimistic about the 2024 football season.
“Hopefully we can make it to the playoffs with the 12 teams,” he said. “Hopefully we can get into the rhythm.”
Like generations of Auburn fans before him, a visit to Jordan-Hare Stadium was enough for John Turner.
“My dad took me to an Auburn game when I wasn’t really rooting for a team,” he said. “I recognized the atmosphere and became an Auburn fan.”
Fans will be back in three weeks when the Tigers play Alabama A&M for Kickoff on The Plains at Jordan-Hare Stadium on August 31 at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Jeff Shearer is a senior editor at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
