Driven to Greatness
By Mary Nobles Hancock
Mountain Brook High School
Birmingham, AL
At a June 22 press conference Auburn University line backer LaDarius Owens said, “You can’t be great just doing what’s required.” Owens is well on his way to greatness.
From a family driven mentality to his incredible maturity and dedication, LaDarius Owens has already proven himself to be anything but your typical football player.
A self-proclaimed workaholic, Owens was red-shirted for the football team while working his way onto The Dean’s List both semesters of his freshman year at Auburn.
As a football player Owens strives to “get on the field and make an impact to help my team win.”
Following Auburn’s 2010 National Championship win against the University of Oregon Owens knows that there are skeptics about the team’s ability to have another successful season in the fall of 2011.
“I like being an underdog, everyone thinks we’re gonna fail, so we don’t have anything to lose,” said Owens.
Playing the season red-shirted was hard on Owens, but he used the season as a time to mature and prepare for the 2011 season.
“You can either be bitter or you can learn from it,” says Owens, “I was just so excited about coming [to Auburn].”
One of the biggest things keeping Owens going, he says, is his close-knit family.
“My perspective on playing football is different than most, I play for my family,” says Owens.
Raised by a single mom, Owens played football on and off throughout high school, mostly as a defensive player.
Owens’ Uncle, James Owens, was the first black scholarship football player at Auburn, and Owens considers himself to be much less famous than his uncle.
“Most people who know me know him,” says Owens of his uncle, “I just want to make him proud.”
Owens stress that one of the biggest things that pulled him to Auburn was the sense of family and community.
“Every treated me like family. […] the thing we believe in [at Auburn] is family,” says Owens, commenting that Coach Gene Chizik routinely forces the team to go to movies or water parks together, even after a long day of practice.
Owens plans to play for the NFL after his time at Auburn, adding: “I just want to play [football], that’s my goal.”
Mountain Brook High School
Birmingham, AL
At a June 22 press conference Auburn University line backer LaDarius Owens said, “You can’t be great just doing what’s required.” Owens is well on his way to greatness.
From a family driven mentality to his incredible maturity and dedication, LaDarius Owens has already proven himself to be anything but your typical football player.
A self-proclaimed workaholic, Owens was red-shirted for the football team while working his way onto The Dean’s List both semesters of his freshman year at Auburn.
As a football player Owens strives to “get on the field and make an impact to help my team win.”
Following Auburn’s 2010 National Championship win against the University of Oregon Owens knows that there are skeptics about the team’s ability to have another successful season in the fall of 2011.
“I like being an underdog, everyone thinks we’re gonna fail, so we don’t have anything to lose,” said Owens.
Playing the season red-shirted was hard on Owens, but he used the season as a time to mature and prepare for the 2011 season.
“You can either be bitter or you can learn from it,” says Owens, “I was just so excited about coming [to Auburn].”
One of the biggest things keeping Owens going, he says, is his close-knit family.
“My perspective on playing football is different than most, I play for my family,” says Owens.
Raised by a single mom, Owens played football on and off throughout high school, mostly as a defensive player.
Owens’ Uncle, James Owens, was the first black scholarship football player at Auburn, and Owens considers himself to be much less famous than his uncle.
“Most people who know me know him,” says Owens of his uncle, “I just want to make him proud.”
Owens stress that one of the biggest things that pulled him to Auburn was the sense of family and community.
“Every treated me like family. […] the thing we believe in [at Auburn] is family,” says Owens, commenting that Coach Gene Chizik routinely forces the team to go to movies or water parks together, even after a long day of practice.
Owens plans to play for the NFL after his time at Auburn, adding: “I just want to play [football], that’s my goal.”