Prince Tega Wanogho – Noteworthy
The goal was lofty, yet straightforward and single-minded, for Prince Tega Wanogho when he arrived in America nearly five years ago. “I was going to be the next LeBron James,” Wanogho said. “I can dunk the ball, though. I can’t shoot, but I can rebound and dunk the ball, for real. That was just the goal, that was just my plan.” At 6-foot-7 with a hulking frame and freakish athleticism, it’s easy to understand why the Nigeria native wanted to dream so big. That was his plan when he enrolled at Edgewood Academy in Montgomery for his senior year of high school, but with time to kill before basketball season, coach Bobby Carr enlisted Wanogho to join the football team.
That was when Wanogho played tight end and defensive end, and before he broke his leg come basketball season – effectively ending that King-sized goal of being the next LeBron James but opening a new opportunity on the gridiron. “At the end of the day, we make plans, but God has something else for us,” Wanogho said. “I feel like the whole situation from playing basketball to playing football now, I think it’s been the best thing for me. It was a road I wasn’t expecting. I wasn’t expecting to play football.” Football, as it turns out, was a pretty solid fallback option for Wanogho, who last month turned down an opportunity to turn pro early and instead decided to return for his senior season as Auburn’s starting left tackle – the cornerstone of the Tigers’ now-promising offensive line. Wanogho submitted paperwork to the NFL’s College Advisory Committee, and the feedback he heard was that he was a likely third- or fourth-rounder had he left school after last season. – Birmingham News
Nick Coe – Noteworthy
Nick Coe watched “Creed 2” earlier this offseason, and the Auburn pass-rusher was inspired. No, he wasn’t inspired by the protagonist, Adonis Creed, portrayed by Michael B. Jordan, and his story. Coe found inspiration in the film’s main antagonist: Viktor Drago – the son of “Rocky IV” bad guy Ivan Drago. In “Creed 2,” Viktor Drago – at 6-foot-4, 245 pounds – gets two matches with Creed, losing both, first by disqualification and then by corner retirement, when his father throws in the towel to save him from suffering a fate worse than a mere loss. Despite Drago’s record, Coe was impressed with the physical specimen that was Florian Munteanu’s character. “My upcoming year, I’ve got goals,” Coe said. “I watched the movie ‘Creed 2.’ I saw Drago, and I was like, ‘I’ve got to get big like that right there.’”
Coe, of course, is already bigger than Drago’s character. He’s 6-foot-5 and 282 pounds, and he has been described by defensive line coach Rodney Garner as a “Greek god” and by teammates as a “freak of nature.” Still, the Auburn edge-rusher sees room for betterment after deciding – along with fellow defensive linemen Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson – to return for another season on the Plains. “I was pretty sure I wanted to come back and improve a lot,” Coe said. “I feel like I could be a higher pick and everything, so that’s why I came back.” “My skillset – it’s like, I can get better on pass rush and everything,” Coe said. “From a pass-rush standpoint, to be able to get more sacks and pressures and everything, that’s what I believe I can improve the most.” – Birmingham News