Interim head coach Carnell “Cadillac” Williams spoke for 23 minutes during his post-game press conference following Auburn’s 49-27 Iron Bowl loss Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Here’s all he had to say:
“First of all I’m proud of these 24 seniors, it’s the last time for a lot of these guys to put on the pads. College or pro, I personally know how tough that can be. It’s getting tough “Proud of our players, these staff, support staff. I’m so humbled and honored at how they’ve responded to all of this.”
“I mean, through that process, it made me a better person. A better husband, father, a better friend. It is powerful what you can do when you get people to believe and serve and think of one another. It’s powerful. That’s what I’m most excited about, having this opportunity. I said that to the players and the staff. I don’t know how many games we’re going to win and to be honest it was tough but it didn’t matter. But it wasn’t like that. I’ve seen children who were broken. I have seen children who needed help. The opportunity to minister to them and to see how – wow – they opened their hearts, how they did a 360 degrees of how they believe again. [There’s a] many cool things in the four weeks. Like 12 men giving their lives to Christ. Seven men were baptized.
“We didn’t make it through today’s game. I mean, you look at it, in the first half we had two losses, five false starts, five big plays — 25 yards plus a run. I didn’t make it like I told people beforehand, I didn’t work well enough to prepare these guys. I honestly feel that way, and it’s not just managerial talk. At the end of the day I had a bunch of men and kids, this staff, we didn’t prepare these guys well enough.” When you have five false starts and you allow the mental breakdowns that you have, you need to look at yourself in the mirror.
“We’ve been emphasizing that all week – I know we’re going to fight; they will give us everything they have. That’s just how these kids are. They think. They know every coach and I care about them. “We need to be more prepared. A lot of guys haven’t been as sharp and focused as they needed to be. I know how hard it is not to be locked in, your mind is elsewhere , and then go into that environment and try it.” and compete. Your fear will be insane. So if they can take any of that with them, and I’m not pointing the finger at them, just their lives, then their next job is whatever they do has to be intentional with whatever they do.”
To the response he received from everyone at Auburn:
“It means everything. I mean, Auburn – I’ve always been indebted to him because it gave me the opportunity to achieve my lifelong dreams, to take care of my mother, you know, I met my wife here. Raised two boys. So when you think Auburn can do more, you think you can’t do more, but over the past few weeks, oh my god. I mean, from the Auburn family, just folks, there’s a reason I chose Auburn two decades ago and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and these last four weeks have been something special. I’m talking about the absolutely special way they poured into my life, the support, the way they stood behind this team. Furious. Auburn is in a better place because of these seniors and the Auburn family. The future is bright, very bright.”
When fumbling at the punt return and greeting each player leaving the field:
“It’s not like the NFL, you can’t get a fine, can you?”
[Yes, you can]
“Well, I had a front row seat there. It’s tough. The referees have a tough job. They have to see things in real life and make decisions. Let’s just say I had a front row seat. ” there.
“To make every player great, they changed my life for the better again. They wow, made me step out of my comfort zone. They showed me something and I found out some things about my life that I don’t know knew it was there. A lot of successful things, whatever happens, are a direct reflection of the way they reacted and how they let me and the other coaches into their lives. That means a lot to me alone.”
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On Robby Ashford’s resilience:
“Well, this guy is a fighter. He will compete. He will give you everything he has. I mean the guy is amazing. One of the better athletes I’ve ever been with. And man, he tried to convince us to win this. But Robby knows I’ve spoken to Robby several times this year, not just him, me, this team – you better prepare better. We meant mentally strong. Don’t just show up on Saturday. It’s not just these kids who say show up on Saturday. But as a former player, a guy who was in their shoes, went down this path, you have to be on purpose. Saturday’s moment will be too big for you if you don’t take every rep Don’t think of a game-line mentality. A lot of guys are talented. As I tell them, I wasn’t good enough to just go through the moves in training. So we just gotta keep being on guys habits, like just by pattern, man. Once they get that, the mental part of it, a lot of them kids will be A-Ok.
When running more than 300 yards:
“Like I said to these guys, they must be special. [When I was] When he was appointed caretaker coach, he sat down with them and simply shared, “Look, you all have to be that spark.” Much is given, much is asked. The good god has blessed them tremendously and besides the quarterback, the running back is the one who touches the ball most of the time. So these guys could be this light, this spark plug. You could be that positive energy that we needed. Not just on game day, but on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. I told these guys that the team will ride like you guys. Both boys were very unselfish boys. They work well together. It’s amazing to watch these two. It’s pretty cool to know how they feed on each other. I experienced it once many, many moons ago, so that’s pretty good. So happy for these two boys man.”
About Jarquez Hunter and how he ended the season:
“I pray to God that Cole and Cuinn, my two boys, have his kind of attitude, his work ethic. This young man is something special. I’m not just talking about the field, but how he treats people, how he does his business, how kind he is to people, how great he is. With NIL and all that’s going on, these things often get lost. These things are no longer valued. Man, he definitely exemplifies what a chestnut man should be like, to be honest.”
On being the first black man to train in the Iron Bowl:
“It means a lot to me. I grew up wanting to play this game all the time. I dreamed of it, imagined it, created it. I did a little research. This is Google, so if Google gets it wrong, then talk to google auburn and alabama have been playing since 1893 that’s google so i’ll tell you i shared it with my players last night to be the first african american to coach this game to be the head coach, it has I almost collapsed last night. Honestly, I didn’t really think about it much to be honest, but it was definitely special. Especially because we don’t dream of being head coaches, to be honest. For people before and after me who aspire to do these things, many things in life – if you can see it, you can aspire to it and start believing it pretty cool pretty cool I’m very grateful and honored for that t. No one can take that from me, no matter what. No one.”
What do you take away most from your time as interim head coach?
“That’s a great question. phew Honestly, the kids how they answered. I mean… you all already know. Phew from that staff… and I’m talking class, guys not going to class, guys just missing and I know it’s not sad and stuff but to see how guys (snaps) turned that around , guys go class, treat people with respect, stand up for their strategy (sessions), show their tools, guide academics, call and say they’re like other kids. That was the best part of it all, to be honest, to be able to walk in front of these kids and tell a kid how proud I am of you. That touched me very much.
“Secondly, if there’s one thing I took away from this whole ordeal, you can be different and do this and be successful. You can serve, you can go about it and you can do something about these children, you can change their lives. Because I won’t be on this platform if I don’t have the opportunity. Guys like Steve McConnell, my Pee Wee trainer when I was 11 years old. Rod Graves, who was my middle school coach. Coach Raymond Farmer, he was my high school coach (in Etowah, Alabama). Wow. Real men have come into my life and given me the opportunity of a lifetime. So it’s pretty cool that I’m getting the opportunity to share this with you. We still write, talk. I think it’s the coolest thing to have them many, many years ago. Just be honest, be kind, plant that seed that I can do something cool in life. Two decades later to see me standing on this stage, man, we can’t stop texting and talking about it. So no matter what happens, I’ve been blessed. I was blessed by Auburn, I am blessed by the Auburn family. These players. This staff. So the future is bright no matter what, and not because of me, but because of these 24 seniors. I should probably say they left Auburn better than they found it, so these young guys have something to see, something to aspire to, what to look like.
“I know that’s a long answer…”
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