Every so often, a player comes along who inspires a generation and leaves those who view him in action forever changed. Will Herring was not one of these players.
Herring was, however, a better than average safety who converted to OLB in his senior year at Auburn. He redshirted during his 2002 freshman season, and became a constant presence on the defense in 2003, starting his last 36 games in a row until graduating in 2006 (though I swear it feels like he was there for the better part of a decade). You can view his college player bio here.
At one of the early games in the 2003 season, Herring blew a tackle on an opponent's halfback, leading me to cry to the heavens, "DAMMIT HERRING!". This became a battle cry of sorts for when anything went wrong for Auburn, on defense or offense, and eventually extended to offseason team problems, recruiting issues, other sports at Auburn, and Alabama blue laws keeping us from our sweet beer on Sundays. We tried using "Dammit Wilhite!" in honor of CB Jonathan Wilhite blowing a coverage during the 06 season, after Herring graduated, but it didn't have the same ring to it, so here we are today.
Will is doing alright by himself these days, lest ye feel pity for the undeserving blame being heaped upon him. He was drafted in the 5th round of the 2007 NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks, played in 12 games that season, primarily on special teams, and even saw time in the OLB position during the season finale against the Falcons. Congratulations Will. Keep on representing Auburn in the NFL, and best of luck to you.
Photo credit: AP photo by Tony Gutierrez
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