AU Athletics News Conference
Carolyn Vo
KIPP: San Jose Collegiate
Milpitas, CA
Originally from Bessemer, Ala., Auburn University’s football linebacker LaDarius Owens held a mock press conference with AU’s High School Journalism Workshop students. Finally starting his season with AU’s football team in his second year, he hopes to succeed and carry on the championship ways of the Auburn Tigers.
Owens started off with football as a freshman in high school. However, he was expected to sit out his sophomore year due to him transferring to another school and he had to sit out for the whole season. He explains that he gets “bitter about sitting on the sidelines.”
He said he has “faith in God and thinks about his family and keeps going on.” Owens did not start playing for sure until his junior year of high school, which lead to his being drafted by AU in the fall.
As a human science major, Owens reached towards a different goal compared to other football players. “I was on the dean’s list this last fall. It’s a challenge, but you have to manage your time,” said Owens. The dean’s list is basically when a student in college is exceeding in their studies, which is equivalent to honor roll in high school.
Starting off being red shirted was difficult since all he could do was watch on the sidelines as everyone else played. He said he feared that “a lot of the fans might forget about me.” However, he said the positive side to being red shirted is that it gives you time to train to get stronger and to mature like the past players.
Not only does Owens focus on the academics and football, but he creates long lasting friendships with the guys on his football team. “We treat each other like brothers,” Owens said. He chose AU as the college to attend because “it was like a family atmosphere.”
As an underdog, Owens enjoys this fact because “we are going to lose anyways, but you have to go the extra mile.” The biggest goal Owens holds is to “just play the games.”
KIPP: San Jose Collegiate
Milpitas, CA
Originally from Bessemer, Ala., Auburn University’s football linebacker LaDarius Owens held a mock press conference with AU’s High School Journalism Workshop students. Finally starting his season with AU’s football team in his second year, he hopes to succeed and carry on the championship ways of the Auburn Tigers.
Owens started off with football as a freshman in high school. However, he was expected to sit out his sophomore year due to him transferring to another school and he had to sit out for the whole season. He explains that he gets “bitter about sitting on the sidelines.”
He said he has “faith in God and thinks about his family and keeps going on.” Owens did not start playing for sure until his junior year of high school, which lead to his being drafted by AU in the fall.
As a human science major, Owens reached towards a different goal compared to other football players. “I was on the dean’s list this last fall. It’s a challenge, but you have to manage your time,” said Owens. The dean’s list is basically when a student in college is exceeding in their studies, which is equivalent to honor roll in high school.
Starting off being red shirted was difficult since all he could do was watch on the sidelines as everyone else played. He said he feared that “a lot of the fans might forget about me.” However, he said the positive side to being red shirted is that it gives you time to train to get stronger and to mature like the past players.
Not only does Owens focus on the academics and football, but he creates long lasting friendships with the guys on his football team. “We treat each other like brothers,” Owens said. He chose AU as the college to attend because “it was like a family atmosphere.”
As an underdog, Owens enjoys this fact because “we are going to lose anyways, but you have to go the extra mile.” The biggest goal Owens holds is to “just play the games.”