« on: January 03, 2014, 08:11:54 AM »
NEWPORT BEACH, California -- Before every Auburn game this season, Reese Dismukes has walked out to midfield, almost always next to Chris Davis, one of two captains chosen to represent the Tigers in the coin toss.
For Dismukes, the honor is the realization of a goal, a role he held in high school at Spanish Fort and a role he's always felt capable of filling at Auburn.
Even when nobody else saw those attributes.
"I mean, I've always been the leader of this offense," Dismukes said. "Even last year, (when) I didn't get a lot of credit for it."
Only a year ago, the notion that Dismukes would emerge as the offensive captain would have surprised most Auburn fans.
Beyond the fact that he's something of an anomaly as an underclassman in the captain's role -- Dismukes, despite three years in the starting lineup, is only a junior -- Dismukes was suspended for the 2012 season-opener, the result of an arrest for public intoxication the week before Auburn opened its fateful season against Clemson, a sign that he had to clean up some off-the-field issues.
But when Gus Malzahn arrived on campus, he wiped the slate clean for the entire roster, and Dismukes realized he wasn't going to get another second chance.
In the process, Dismukes became exactly the type of leader badly needed on an Auburn offensive line that doesn't feature a single senior.
"I'm in a position where you kind of have to be, making all the calls and that kind of stuff. Dismukes said. "Just kind of embraced that role and then took it to the next level."
When Malzahn arrived on campus, he issued a challenge to Auburn's most experienced players, urging the seniors and some juniors to take ownership of their own team.
Dismukes answered the bell.
"He’s an extension of his coaches; he demands that the other offensive players practice at a high level, and that is what it takes," Malzahn said. "To have a championship-type team, you’ve got to have leaders that really raise the bar for the rest of their teammates. It can’t just be coaches."
From the start, Dismukes meshed well with the no-nonsense style of new offensive line coach J.B. Grimes, then became the assistant's right-hand man as Grimes crafted the nation's most improved front five.
"Reese, he's the kind of guy who he's the leader of the offensive line," fullback Jay Prosch said. "He's extremely football smart, and everyone trusts him and listens to what he says before every play. So he's that kind of guy."
Charged with making all of the line calls along the front, the center is always a natural leader, but Dismukes became more than that, the driving force behind Auburn's offense and the nation's most dominant running game.
"He's the glue. He's what holds it all together," Grimes said after the SEC Championship Game. "The finest leader I've ever had, tough, smart, fast, quick, strong, balanced, just one of the best football players I've ever been around."
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