Auburn's Doolittle makes good on Vow to return

Auburn's Doolittle makes good on vow to return

By Phillip Marshall, Senior Writer
Posted Jul 3, 2008
Copyright © 2008 AuburnUndercover.com

Auburn nose guard Tez Doolittle didn’t have to do it. He earned a degree in criminal justice last August and could have gone on with his life. But that nagging feeling that he hadn’t finished what he started wouldn’t go away.

That’s why Doolittle petitioned the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility. That’s why he’s spent his summer working and sweating with his teammates, many of whom were in middle school when he signed with Auburn out of Opelika High School in 2003.

Defensive tackles coach Don Dunn says it’s something in the DNA of competitors.

“I think it was something that was eating at him,” Dunn says. “I think all athletes who love to compete have that.”

Last August, as he looked to what was to be his senior season, Doolittle was performing better than he ever had. He walked across the stage at graduation. He was pushing hard to unseat Josh Thompson as the starting nose guard. On the day he went down, he didn’t believe it was serious.

“I thought I’d just pulled my calf muscle or something,” Doolittle says. “When I tried to move it, I couldn’t do it. I knew then something was wrong.”

Doolittle had suffered a torn Achilles. His season and, it seemed, his career were over. But he saw it differently almost from the start. He told strength and conditioningcoach Kevin Yoxall not to give up on him.

“The day I got hurt I told Coach Yox ‘I’ll be back,’” Doolittle says. “The whole time, that’s all I was talking about. I kept saying ‘Hey, I’m coming back.’”

In April, Doolittle got the word that the NCAA had approved his application. At the ripe old age of 23, Doolittle was an Auburn football player again. He admits he still has dreams of playing in the NFL, but mostly, he wants to put on his blue No. 99 jersey, run out of that tunnel and play again for Auburn.

“I’ve been playing ball all my life,” Doolittle says. “I love my teammates. I wanted to come back and finish with these guys.”

Doolittle still hasn’t fully recovered. He probably won’t be fully recovered when the Tigers open their season against Louisiana-Monroe.

“I kind of feel I’m not going to be 100 percent when the season starts,” Doolittle says. “I’ll probably get a few snaps per game. I just hope to get there before the season is over. As long as I get to play in a few games, I’ll be happy.”

Doolittle’s value to the team, Dunn says, goes far beyond what he might or might not do on the field. He knows what it’s like to overcome adversity, to push on when it’s hard. He left the team for a short time as a freshman. He battled injuries. But he always came back.

“He’s become a real leader,” Dunn says. “He was having his best two-a-days last year when he got hurt. He can make a big difference for this football team in a lot of ways.”

That’s just what Doolittle says he wants to do. He sees young players wrestling with the challenge of being away from home for the first time, adjusting to the rigors of college football and going to school.

“I was talking with some of the guys, and across the front, there are no other seniors,” Doolittle says. “Everybody looks to me to be a leader. A lot of guys are glad I’m back. A lot of the guys like to hang out with me because I’ve been around for a long time. When they want to know where stuff is, they call me. Want to know where the oil-change place is? Ask Tez. Want to know where’s the best food? Ask Tez.”

Want to know about surviving the hard times? Want to know about not giving up on your dream?

Ask Tez.