Reese says he's walking the skrate and narrow. al.copy.com.pasta
A two-year starter at center taking on a leadership role for a young offensive line would come as no surprise for almost any other team. For Reese Dismukes, who battled off-the-field issues and served a one-game suspension following an arrest, it's a sign his teammates are taking that the junior is starting to mature.
Dismukes has been one of the most vocal players on Auburn's practice fields this spring, and he's been the offensive lineman encouraging his teammates to pick it up during individual drills and to move quickly from station to station. Being suspended last season forced Dismukes to make some changes.
"Focused a lot more on the team – on the field, becoming more of a vocal leader; off the field, just doing everything right," Dismukes said. "I don’t give myself a chance to get in trouble. That obviously can never happen again, or I won’t be here." Dismukes, a Freshman All-SEC pick after a sterling first season as Auburn's starting center, was asked to take over a leadership role last fall and anchor the offensive line.
Reese Dismukes says he's changed after last season's off-the-field issues. After off-the-field issues derailed his sophomore season, Dismukes says he's taken steps to avoid making those mistakes again and plans to be Auburn's leader on the offensive line. But a week before Auburn was set to open the season against Clemson, Dismukes was arrested for public intoxication and suspended for the season-opener.
He ended up starting 10 games -- Dismukes missed a start against Ole Miss due to injury -- but Dismukes was not made available to the media the rest of the season, and after his arrest, former Auburn coach Gene Chizik asked a private security firm to enforce a player curfew at 11 p.m. "I mean, it definitely made me grow up a lot," Dismukes said. "I walk a lot straighter line than I did back at the time when it happened."
Dismukes didn't go into the specifics of the changes he made during the offseason, but the possibility of seeing his football career end hit home. "Being a junior, this is my third year starting as a center at Auburn," Dismukes said. "Obviously, I have a good chance to go to the next level if I keep doing what I’ve been doing. I can’t do that making mistakes like I did."
Dismukes has to play a pivotal role on an Auburn offensive line that has no seniors. Under the leadership of new offensive line coach J.B. Grimes, Auburn's offensive line is being pushed hard to improve, but the Tigers need Dismukes and guard Chad Slade to lead from their experience as two-year starters.
"He's the leader up front, he's got the most experience," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "Those guys will listen to him." Slade has played alongside Dismukes for two seasons. After a turbulent year, the junior says he's seen a change in the third-year center.
"Oh yeah. I’ve seen him grow up. He’s better. He’s not that same Reese," Slade said. "He’s got his mind right. He’s mentally, physically tough. He’s one of the leaders out there." Dismukes' vocal style on the practice field isn't a major change. At center, he's been asked to make the line calls for two seasons, a role that automatically places a player in a leadership role.
"Reese has always been a vocal leader as long as I've been here," backup center Alex Kozan said. "Not everybody sees that necessarily, but Reese has always been a leader on our offensive line." Now, after a turbulent sophomore campaign, Dismukes says his actions off the field will back up his leadership on it.
0 Replies
545 Views