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A spirit that is not afraid

Holsey ready to bounce back from injury for final season

<p>After completing a sack, Joshua Holsey salutes the crowd.  (Daniel Oramas / MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)</p>

After completing a sack, Joshua Holsey salutes the crowd. (Daniel Oramas / MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)

For Josh Holsey, stepping on the field against Clemson will carry some weight. Partly because Auburn will be facing the No. 2 team in the country, sure, but there’s another reason.

The first game Holsey saw action in as a true freshman in was against these same Tigers in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta back in 2012, so the circle will be complete, so to speak, when he strides onto the Jordan-Hare Stadium grass Saturday night.

“I’ve been out for a long time, as most people know. I actually, coming in freshman year, my freshman year, we played Clemson in the Dome,” Holsey said. “To end with them for the first game for my last year is pretty big too. It’s a big game for me and for the rest of the team to come out and show what we can do, what we’ve been working for all summer.”

Holsey will feature heavily in the defensive back rotation, especially with players like Jamel Dean and Jeremiah Dinson out with injuries, and with Stephen Roberts suspended for the opener.

He’ll be tasked with stopping one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in college football — one who is known for making plays with his feet, something cornerbacks have to keep an eye out for.

“When (Watson) scrambles, you’ve just got to, you’ve got to stay with your man,” Holsey said. “You’ve got to plaster with your man. If you’re in zone, you’ve got to find somebody to plaster to so he don’t have an easy throw down the field while he’s scrambling, because that’s probably when he’s at his best, when he’s outside of the pocket.”

Although he’ll be thrust into the fire against Watson and the high-flying Clemson offense, the game offers Holsey a chance to right his feet and get back into a playing rhythm, one that was cut short when he tore his ACL for the second time against Jacksonville State last season, ending his year once again.

Now, as a senior, he promises to make his last go-round the best he can.

“Ever since I first got injured I kinda look forward to every game — just making it to the game, you know what I mean? Because you never know when your last play is going to be,” Holsey said. “So I’m really looking forward to this year though because I know if I get hurt now, I can’t come back again, you know what I mean?

“I’m really looking forward to each and every game. Especially this game because it’s a big one. There are a lot of people that are going to be watching so I can really showcase what we’ve been working for and what I’ve been working for to come back, even off a second ACL. I’m very eager and I’ve been smiling since the time started clicking. I’m ready to play.”


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