Aundray Bruce

[AUght2win 6,834]

This has always fascinated me. Bruce played before I was born, so he is almost like a myth to me. I mean, he was the #1 overall pick in the NFL draft. He is the last linebacker to be taken with the first pick. Yet, it's like he's completely forgotten in Auburn lore.

Question for those on the board that got to watch him play. How good was Aundray? Was he an undisputed, best-guy-on-the-field type? Any memorable plays or games? Was there national buzz around him? Where did he rank in terms of great Auburn players? Was he the face of the program for a while?

I understand he was an NFL bust (at least relative to his draft spot), but I am so curious about how and why he isn't remembered more. 

[gr82be 14,423]

1 hour ago, AUght2win said:

This has always fascinated me. Bruce played before I was born, so he is almost like a myth to me. I mean, he was the #1 overall pick in the NFL draft. He is the last linebacker to be taken with the first pick. Yet, it's like he's completely forgotten in Auburn lore.

Question for those on the board that got to watch him play. How good was Aundray? Was he an undisputed, best-guy-on-the-field type? Any memorable plays or games? Was there national buzz around him? Where did he rank in terms of great Auburn players? Was he the face of the program for a while?

I understand he was an NFL bust (at least relative to his draft spot), but I am so curious about how and why he isn't remembered more. 

I didn't remember that he had 11 seasons in the NFL until I looked him up. From what I remember he was monster on the field for Auburn. I tried to find something from the '87 GT game but no luck. That was his most memorable game. He had 3 interceptions, a fumble and recovery and his last pick was a pick six as time expired. 

 

[weagl1 1,782]

At times he could just take over a game then the next week he would simply disappear.  I remember one game against GA Tech where he just about won it by himself.  But you never knew what you were gonna get from him.  He also did a bunch of stupid crap off the field to get in trouble.  Mostly practical jokes that went awry. I never understood why he was drafted first with all his issues. 

[Eagle-1 3,821]

Bruce was one of the most physically talented athletes I have personally ever seen play at Auburn, and that goes back as far as the late 1960's for me. 

I  marked him for All American potential from the time he was a freshman playing on the kickoff team. He was by far the biggest player on the kickoff coverage team, and was always the first one down the field. He could literally outrun the DB's. Was in my opinion a can't miss athlete, and could have probably been an impact player at multiple positions. 

[Pedaler 1,001]

Let’s put it this way... the neighborhood boys and I had a goal line stand game we played    (2 on 2) that we called ‘Rocker-Bruce’. He was bigger than life to us.

[fredst 9,064]

I was at AU during Aundray’s time. His physical gifts were unbelievable. I remember watching a guy on kickoff coverage his freshman year and thinking “Who is that dude?”. He had the speed of a wide receiver with prototypical DE size. As mentioned, he dominated the 1987 GaTech game with a forced fumble, fumble recovery, multiple sacks and 3 INT one of which he returned for a TD. He was also an incredible bball player, I believe the state MVP his senior year in HS for his classification. His motor was sporadic but when “On” I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a better D lineman-and his contemporaries represent the golden age of Auburn d-line

[1auburn1 1,115]

Great topic.   My Aundray Bruce story.....he was a freshman when I was a junior and he was recruited by someone on my intramural basketball team to come in and play a game with us.     He was a tall, muscular physical freak and you really realize up close that athletes of that caliber really are made of "different stuff" from the rest of us.    Anyway, we were up by one point with about 5 secs to go in the game.   We had ball out under the other teams's goal.   I knew exactly what it would take to run out the clock so I said for Aundray to break long, I would throw the ball up for him, he would no doubt come down with it and he could run out the clock.     All went exactly as planned, at first.    I slapped the ball, he takes off towards our goal, I heave it long, he comes down with it and starts dribbling.     Where things went wrong was when he saw the open basket, he launches about 12 ft from the goal and throws down the most monstrous slam dunk I had ever seen.    So monstrous that his feet flew out from under him and he came crashing to floor.    I'm surprised the goal wasn't yanked out of the Rec Center ceiling!      Of course, the ref calls a technical since dunks weren't allowed, the other team sinks two FTs and we lose the game.        Which I consider the loss a small price to pay just to have the story!

[fredst 9,064]

2 hours ago, 1auburn1 said:

Great topic.   My Aundray Bruce story.....he was a freshman when I was a junior and he was recruited by someone on my intramural basketball team to come in and play a game with us.     He was a tall, muscular physical freak and you really realize up close that athletes of that caliber really are made of "different stuff" from the rest of us.    Anyway, we were up by one point with about 5 secs to go in the game.   We had ball out under the other teams's goal.   I knew exactly what it would take to run out the clock so I said for Aundray to break long, I would throw the ball up for him, he would no doubt come down with it and he could run out the clock.     All went exactly as planned, at first.    I slapped the ball, he takes off towards our goal, I heave it long, he comes down with it and starts dribbling.     Where things went wrong was when he saw the open basket, he launches about 12 ft from the goal and throws down the most monstrous slam dunk I had ever seen.    So monstrous that his feet flew out from under him and he came crashing to floor.    I'm surprised the goal wasn't yanked out of the Rec Center ceiling!      Of course, the ref calls a technical since dunks weren't allowed, the other team sinks two FTs and we lose the game.        Which I consider the loss a small price to pay just to have the story!

That’s awesome! That was a story I heard during my AU time because my brother worked at the Rec. Nice to hear from somebody that was a primary participant!

[gctiger 931]

4 hours ago, weagl1 said:

At times he could just take over a game then the next week he would simply disappear.  I remember one game against GA Tech where he just about won it by himself.  But you never knew what you were gonna get from him.  He also did a bunch of stupid crap off the field to get in trouble.  Mostly practical jokes that went awry. I never understood why he was drafted first with all his issues. 

I was at that GT game.  Didn’t have a ticket, but they started letting people in about mid 4th quarter and we watched it from one of the upper deck ramps.  Auburn was trailing late and he took over the game and scored a pick 6 at the very end.  When he crossed the goal line he just kept on running into the locker room and stayed there.  

[AUght2win 6,834]

4 hours ago, weagl1 said:

At times he could just take over a game then the next week he would simply disappear.  I remember one game against GA Tech where he just about won it by himself.  But you never knew what you were gonna get from him.  He also did a bunch of stupid crap off the field to get in trouble.  Mostly practical jokes that went awry. I never understood why he was drafted first with all his issues. 

Sounds like Jameis Winston with the practical jokes. He pulled a BB gun on a pizza guy?

[1auburn1 1,115]

1 hour ago, fredst said:

That’s awesome! That was a story I heard during my AU time because my brother worked at the Rec. Nice to hear from somebody that was a primary participant!

Hilarious!    It really IS a small world!

[Viper 3,132]

9 hours ago, gr82be said:

I tried to find something from the '87 GT game but no luck.

 

[Viper 3,132]

11 hours ago, AUght2win said:

How good was Aundray? Was he an undisputed, best-guy-on-the-field type?

Yes always the best guy on the field. I’ve always believed Jevon Kearse (FL) was his best comparison. 

Also comparable to Chase Young.

Man amongst boys was he. Just towered over everyone. Everytime he sacked the QB, it literally looked like he had devoured him. Ran like a deer too.

[AUght2win 6,834]

47 minutes ago, Viper said:

Yes always the best guy on the field. I’ve always believed Jevon Kearse (FL) was his best comparison. 

Also comparable to Chase Young.

Man amongst boys was he. Just towered over everyone. Everytime he sacked the QB, it literally looked like he had devoured him. Ran like a deer too.

Were there other notable performances beside the GT game? Clearly that was his signature game ala Tre Smith's '02 Iron Bowl.

[AUght2win 6,834]

Write up from a ranking list of players who were legendary on Saturday but didn't pop in the pros.

[Howard Roark 195]

Like many on here said, when Bruce wanted to dominate, he was unstoppable.  Just a maturity thing.  My favorite story was when he got in trouble for running through a group of HS girls in Auburn for a cheerleading summer camp with a machete over his head screaming.  He had a different sense of humor.  I did crash his contract signing party out at the clubhouse for one of the trailer parks.  Hundreds of people there.  

[fredst 9,064]

5 hours ago, Viper said:

 

The Tillman-Tillman-Tillman call from the 1987 GaTech game was the greatest of Jim’s many great ones, IMO

[aucanucktiger 1,791]

Aundray Bruce's stock jumped through the roof after a phenomenal game against a very good Georgia Tech team. He made a crazy interception that looked like a man among boys. Before that he was mainly a special teams manimal playing LB and I admit I thought he had all the potential in the world. Like many players, he got very rich then quickly lost motivation IMO. 

[Viper 3,132]

9 hours ago, AUght2win said:

Were there other notable performances beside the GT game? Clearly that was his signature game ala Tre Smith's '02 Iron Bowl.

He def had TONS of notable plays. Maybe @StatTigercan put together an Aundray Bruce highlight video.

[Mikey 16,579]

He had some good games and he had some games when his name wasn't called after the starting lineup was announced. He was mostly a basketball player in high school, him getting a football scholarship was something of a surprise as he wasn't highly recruited for football. Him getting drafted #1 overall was an even bigger surprise to people around AU.

In short, his college career didn't jump out and say "#1 PICK!

[AUght2win 6,834]

The thing I don't get is that he just seems so forgotten. Even if he was an NFL bust, even if his motor only sometimes ran, there are a ton of players who are still popular in the Auburn Zeitgeist who seemingly accomplished much less.

Some guys that come to my mind - Quentin Groves, Junior Rosegreen, Ben Tamburello, Dameyune Craig, Gregg Carr, Will Herring, Lawyer Tillman, Lee Ziemba, James Bostic, Fred Beasley, Brandon Cox, Corey Lemonier, Darvin Adams. I could go on and on.

Point is, those are all names who aren't know outside of Auburn fans, but are standouts to our fanbase. Why didn't Aundray achieve this status? Was it the maturity issues? That would make sense, as it's sort of parallel to the way fans view Mike Dyer - tremendous talent, had some huge moments, but character issues kept them from attaining an iconic place Auburn football history.

[Gr82batigr 97]

16 hours ago, Howard Roark said:

Like many on here said, when Bruce wanted to dominate, he was unstoppable.  Just a maturity thing.  My favorite story was when he got in trouble for running through a group of HS girls in Auburn for a cheerleading summer camp with a machete over his head screaming.  He had a different sense of humor.  I did crash his contract signing party out at the clubhouse for one of the trailer parks.  Hundreds of people there.  

I heard about the machete story with the addition of Aundray only wearing gym shorts and covered in baby powder😃. In addition to the GT game dominance, he did have a great bowl game vs the USC Trojans if I recall.  I know there are many more highlights of his playing days. He seemed average at times but could dominate when he wanted to do so. Those AU defenses with 6’5” Aundray on one side and 6’6” Bryan Smith on the other side were fun to watch. 

[Mikey 16,579]

5 hours ago, AUght2win said:

The thing I don't get is that he just seems so forgotten. Even if he was an NFL bust, even if his motor only sometimes ran, there are a ton of players who are still popular in the Auburn Zeitgeist who seemingly accomplished much less.

Some guys that come to my mind - Quentin Groves, Junior Rosegreen, Ben Tamburello, Dameyune Craig, Gregg Carr, Will Herring, Lawyer Tillman, Lee Ziemba, James Bostic, Fred Beasley, Brandon Cox, Corey Lemonier, Darvin Adams. I could go on and on.

Point is, those are all names who aren't know outside of Auburn fans, but are standouts to our fanbase. Why didn't Aundray achieve this status? Was it the maturity issues? That would make sense, as it's sort of parallel to the way fans view Mike Dyer - tremendous talent, had some huge moments, but character issues kept them from attaining an iconic place Auburn football history.

Those guys had Auburn careers. Aundray Bruce had a few Auburn games. That's how I remember it. I'm sure someone with the technical ability could put together a Bruce highlight film, but over his time here, the highlights weren't very frequent. For example, Fred Beasley and Quentin Groves seemed to give it their all every time out and did something noticeable in most of their games. Bruce had a noticeable game maybe once a year.

As far as the character issues, I don't recall any. Others here do remember some weirdness, but he didn't do things that made the news or got him or Auburn into big trouble.

[alexava 6,973]

I think he was of some relation to Eric Ramsay. Maybe married to sisters????? Maybe why he’s not mentioned much. Sorry for bringing up that name. 

[augolf1716 21,110]

On 11/20/2020 at 7:52 AM, weagl1 said:

At times he could just take over a game then the next week he would simply disappear.  I remember one game against GA Tech where he just about won it by himself.  But you never knew what you were gonna get from him.  He also did a bunch of stupid crap off the field to get in trouble.  Mostly practical jokes that went awry. I never understood why he was drafted first with all his issues. 

I was there in that god forsaken stadium and we were a little lucky to win the game. Lawyer Tillman made a great catch for a TD to put us ahead with 24 seconds to go in the game but Bruce was something else that day.

I was shocked the Falcons took him #1 overall first round yes but not #1