Auburn Tigers LB Fa'Najae Gotay: ‘I Never Played in an Atmosphere Like That’

One of Auburn’s newcomers was blown away by the environment in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday night.

Former Maryland Linebacker Fa'Najae Gotay was in awe of the Auburn Family in his first appearance in Jordan-Hare. / Austin Perryman, Auburn University Athletics

Jordan-Hare Stadium has a reputation of being one of college football’s best environments.

This was once again proven to be the case in the Auburn Tigers’ 73-3 win over Alabama A&M to open the season. Even when it was a lopsided game late in the fourth quarter, the stands remained full.

Auburn had plenty of newcomers make their first appearance in Jordan-Hare, including linebacker Fa’Najae Gotay, who transferred from Maryland during the offseason. Gotay came away impressed with the Auburn Family.

“I had never really played in an atmosphere like that,” Gotay said. “It was loud, it was electric, but it was good to get back into football. The crowd and the stadium, it was definitely a blast experiencing that for the first time.”

Gotay was one of the last players to join the Tigers via the transfer portal, meaning he had to adjust quicker than most.

“That was pretty hard,” Gotay said. “I did hit the portal pretty late, and I was just thankful that I got another opportunity. But I did get here right before camp so I had to try to grind, learn the playbook and create a value for myself in a short time.”

He was part of an Auburn defense that held the Bulldogs to just-three points, despite Alabama A&M venturing into the redzone on more than one occasion. Gotay finished his debut with three tackles.

Gotay was committed to play for Auburn’s defensive coordinator DJ Durkin out of high school when Durkin was the head coach at Maryland. It ended up not working out for the two to compete together there but they are making the most of this second chance.

“I like the energy he (Durkin) brings,” Gotay said. “He doesn’t show favoritism, you know the best (player) is going to play, if you make plays you’re going to play. He’s not listening to what everybody else is saying, he’s being his own man and that’s something I can really respect out of him.”

Auburn has a diverse set of linebackers with the skills to be effective in different areas of the game. Gotay’s presence adds another layer to that position group giving Durkin more options for various-game situations.

“I think you need versatile linebackers when it comes to this game,” Gotay said. “You need some people that can rush and make tackles, you need some people that can sit in the box and take on blocks and stuff like that. I think our versatile linebacker room is really good and I think it’s gonna show this year a lot.”

In a group of players with a mixed bag of strengths, Gotay plays one of the most important roles, providing a veteran perspective to younger players and being a mentor on the team.

“My role is to just do what I can do,” Gotay said. “I’m an upperclassman coming in, just showing younger classmen how things are ran and not to get frustrated. My role is to let them know ‘you’ve got a long journey ahead of you.’”

The next step on Auburn's road will be another-home game against Cal on Saturday. The Tigers are nearly two-touchdown favorites over the Bears, but Cal will provide a considerably-tougher test than Auburn's previous foe.