……Defensively, I LOVE the idea of the unblockable terror up front. Who better than Stanley McClover? He sure terrorized the SEC for two years, till he left early. Ask Brodie.

……When we limped into the 2000s, we were just hoping for winning seasons, honestly. There was a guy we signed going in, that basically turned a 5-6 squad into a 9-2 Western Division Champion. I’m talking about Rudi Johnson. There hasn’t been an Auburn player since Pat Sullivan that SO increased Auburn expectations! Rudi had 10 100 yard games in 11 tries that year, and is second all-time in Auburn’s single season rushing records. I think we’ve had the offensive success we’ve had, because subsequent backs have been trying to emulate Rudi’s tenacity and toughness! RUDI!

….My vote is for Rudi Johnson, Auburn Icon.

the decade D would be Takeo Spikes lead us to a SEC west title in 98. My D choice would be Marks and O would be Jason Campbell led us to the 2004 uncrowned National tItle and overcame adversity through his tenure.

Devin Aromashodu, Anthony Mix, Ben Obomanu, Courtney Taylor. IMO, they were the most important cogs to our powerhouse 2004 and 2005 teams. Brandon Cox was awesome in 2005, but struggled in 2006 without 3 of the 4. We still had Kenny Irons in 2006, but fell off dramatically on offense. It was because we had no real deep threat.

I have to agree with KentuckyTiger, Rogers made me love watching the defense. Offensively I have to go with Caddy, but it is very hard to choose. While he had to share the ball with Ronnie, he was able to take it to the house anytime he touched it. Also, he always fall forward. Even if he got stuffed at the line, he would fall forward for a two yard gain. Lastly, he brought sort of a kid-like love to the game. I will never forget him jumping up and “going crazy” after a good run

If I had to pick a defensive player it would probably have to be Karlos Dansby. He was a dominant linebacker and I will always remember that interception against North Carolina. Also you would have to consider Quentin Groves. On the offensive side I would have to go with either Ben Obamanu or Marcus McNeil.

Well, let me add my two pieces of copper. As far as offensively goes-it’s a weird choice some might think, but I really think he was the catalyst that changed the AU program in the 200s. That would be no less than Ronnie Brown. When Carnell Williams went down with that leg injury against UF it was Brown they turned to following that night. He was the other half of the tag-team that really made the Auburn back field probably the two greatest running backs ever to play college ball together for four straight years like they did. Before Carnell got hurt, Auburn concentrated too much on running the ball with him. When Ronnie stepped in, he proved that more than just Carnell could play and from then on Auburn was a force to be reckon with while those two guys were at Auburn.

Defensively, I’d have to give it to Carlos Rogers. He was simply amazing and could submarine better than anybody it seemed. I really would have to give it to Rogers then maybe Dansby. He was a beast no doubt about it.

but here goes my choices (yes several got the invite to the gala but only one walks away with the Todd92 mvp award)…..

1.) Jason Campbell – reviled and heckled until his senior season, learning under 4 different OC’s, and does nothing short of making a Rocky like comeback in his senior year to lead AU to 13-0 and become a first round draft pick.

2.) Marcus McNeil – One of the best offensive lineman to ever grace the plains and with out him Cadillac and Ronnie and Campbell don’t have the season they did in 2004. I was damned close to putting him first.

3.) Karlos Dansby – again maybe not the obvious choice but he became the leader of the defense quickly after switching from WR to LB and was a player that offenses had to gameplan for and without him our defense wouldn’t have been anywhere near as good as it was.

4.) Carlos Rogers – A true shutdown Corner and fully deserving of the Thorpe Award in 2004 and the only reason he isn’t higher on the list is because I don’t think he would have been as effective with out having a battering ram (junior rosegreen) at safety and because we were very deep at DB on our roster (thanks to none other than Gene Chizik).

5.) Ben Tate/Rudi Johnson – couldn’t make my mind up so it’s a tie. This may surprise some of you but it shouldn’t. Ben Tate was the heart of the offense this season and you would be hard pressed to find a player that meant more to a single season than Tate. And the same goes for Rudi without Rudi we were back to Heath Evans being the leading rusher of the season and that’s only if Tubs realizes his error soon enough (remember Evans was relegated to 3 string defense his first three games under Tuberville after being the only offense we had in ’98…..damn that got me and Tubs off on the wrong foot and I still think Evans would have stayed for his senior season had it not been for that)

the picks that I have chosen were not always the best player on a given squad but I believe they were the MVP of the teams which means the players most likely to be missed if they weren’t there. And yes I left off Cadillac and Brown because if either went down the other was just as capable of filling the spot (not to mention Brandon Jacobs).

…if I were to pick a player on defense, it would be Will Herring. I know he only made 2nd Team All SEC , but he anchored the defense for 4 years during the decades most productive period (2003-2006) for Auburn, made over 200 tackles, started every game, and holds the record for most consecutive (49) starts at Auburn .

Stats not too impressive, think we would of lost a few games without him