Auburn coaches got more than they came for during a first round game of the 2008 state playoffs between North Gwinett and Lassiter high schools in Georgia.
They were there to watch Lassiter's Philip Lutzenkirchen, future Auburn football star.
They got to see Lutzenkirchen haul in nine catches for 112 yards and something extra on the other side of the ball.
A sophomore playing for North Gwinett stepped in at wide receiver that night because of injuries and scored three touchdowns to beat Lutzenkirchen and Lassiter 43-21.
That high school sophomore was C.J. Uzomah.
Lutzenkirchen, who died in a car crash in June, went on to do great things at Auburn after high school, and Uzomah was only a few steps behind him.
"I heard from (Auburn) after the season was over, when I was playing basketball," Uzomah said. "I was pretty excited about that. I have some family friends that went here, and they always talked about how great Auburn was."
Tigers' tight end Uzomah was one of 33 players named to the John Mackey Award midseason watch list last Monday, Oct. 20. The award is given annually to college football's top tight end.
The 6-foot-5, 264-pound senior has six catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns this season. He has 24 catches for 364 yards and six touchdowns in his career.
Uzomah attributed much of his football success to Lutzenkirchen at SEC Media Days.
"He really opened me up out of my shell," Uzomah said. "He really calmed me down when those bullets were flying. He has been a huge impact on my play, on my development as a football player; The ability to study film, to kind of understand coach Malzahn's lingo, which has helped tremendously. He had a huge impact on me."
After catching a nine-yard-touchdown pass from senior quarterback Nick Marshall in Auburn's win against LSU, Uzomah broke out Lutzenkirchen's old touchdown celebration in the end zone, the Lutzie.
"That was my attempt at it," Uzomah said. "In my head, it just clicked right when I caught the pass to do it. That was just my tribute to him. He's affected my life and the Auburn community tremendously."
The record-breaking tight end is not the only one who helped Uzomah get where he is today. Having strict parents helped him as well, Uzomah said.
"I had to do my chores," Uzomah said. "We have an alarm clock, and if it went off before I went home, they would cut back my curfew an hour for the whole week. If I was late from that point on, I just couldn't go out. That helped a lot. It made me accountable."
The emphasis on family helped Uzomah decide to come to Auburn.
"Auburn is like Suwanee to me," Uzomah said. "It's not too big and not too small. There's an unreal atmosphere with fans and friends. I knew I'd be around good people."
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