Byron Cowart was supposed to walk in his freshman year and dominate at Auburn. Cowart, a former five-star defensive end recruit for the Tigers, didn’t live up to his lofty – and unfair, according to new defensive coordinator Kevin Steele – expectations.
Cowart was ranked as the No. 3 overall prospect according to 247 Sports but only played 20 snaps a game during his freshman campaign. Practices throughout last season didn’t exactly go Cowart’s way either.
According to Michael Niziolek of ledger-enquirer.com, Auburn defensive line coach Rodney Garner talked a lot about Cowart on Monday.
“They (Cowart’s teammates) were flat dominating him and I ain’t talking about good players dominating him,” said Garner, via Niziolek. “Anybody that was willing to line up on him beat him down. We had guys when Byron got out there they were jumping up in line. Walk-ons were going he’s a five-star?”
Garner also talked about the improvement of Cowart, not just of his play on the field, but his demeanor off it as well.
“He has a long ways to go, but just fighting and competing you don’t understand how important it is,” Garner said. “It’s the number one thing. It’s awesome. It’s not just on the field. I’ve seen that same progress in his life — outlook on life, his demeanor, how he goes about his day — so many times you saw Byron looking defeated, he ain’t that guy. He’s moving closer to the guy with the swag he walked in with.”
Cowart has mainly been running with the second-team defense throughout open viewing periods for reporters so far this off-season. If the former high school standout wants to make an impression early this season, he’ll have the opportunity to do so, as the Tigers begin its 2016 season on Sept. 3 when the team hosts Clemson.
Twitter: @KidCuni
