'Heart of a lion:' 'Worm' works for a breakout season

[aubiefifty 18,231]

247sports.com

 

'Heart of a lion:' Auburn's 'Worm' works for a breakout season

ByPhillip Marshall

10-13 minutes

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AUBURN, Alabama – Sitting in the stands at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Nov. 30 of last year, Joy McIntyre thought it was a fumble.

Midway through the fourth quarter of an Iron Bowl filled with twists and turns, Auburn trailed 45-40 and faced third-and-five at the Alabama 11. McIntyre watched as sophomore Shaun Shivers, her oldest son, trotted on to the field. She immediately sensed he was going to get the football, and she was right.

 

Shaun Shivers too much for Alabama's Xavier McKinney. (Photo: CBS Sports)

Shivers, the man they call “Worm,” stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 179 pounds. Sprinting to the right he got the ball from wildcat Boobee Whitlow. He turned upfield and took off. All-SEC Alabama safety Xavier McKinney stepped up to stop him. It wasn’t happening. They collided, but McKinney’s helmet went flying and Shivers, known for his world-class speed, ran into the end zone with 8:08 remaining for what proved to be the winning touchdown in a 48-45 Auburn victory.

It was, in a way, fitting that Shivers made the biggest play in the biggest game. A year earlier, he’d broken a 75-yard touchdown run in the Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny Stadium, only to see it wiped out by a marginal holding call that had nothing to with breaking him free.

“I hear a lot of people say they thought it was the football that went up in the air,” McIntyre says. “Well, I was one of those people. I am in the stands and see him get the ball. It was the first time he’d touched the ball. I thought he was going to go to the inside. I see him go in and see McKinney step up. Then I see something going up in the air.”

Her heart sank as only a mother’s heart could sink. Her son, on the biggest play of his college career, had lost the ball. Or so she thought.

“I was like ‘Oh, my gosh, he fumbled the ball. I started crying.’” McIntyre says. “I was saying ‘You can’t fumble the ball.’ One of the parents tapped me and said ‘Look at the screen.’ By the time I looked up and saw it was a helmet, he was running to the sideline where I was. We were hyped up. I’ve seen him run over people so many times, but that was just different.”

A PLAY THAT WILL LIVE ON

It was a play that will live in Auburn football lore long after Shivers is gone. Parents will tell their children about being at Jordan-Hare Stadium the day it happened, when the smallest man on the field ran over an All-SEC safety in the most dominant way imaginable, hitting him in the chest so hard that it knocked his helmet into the air.

It wasn't until later that McIntyre fully appreciated what she'd witnessed her son do,

“I get to Auburn in January,” McIntyre says, “and I see his picture in the athletic complex. I see it in Walmart. Everybody is talking about it. I see it on TV now, see it on Gameday. It is amazing."

SHIVERS’ IS FOCUSED ON SUCCESS

Shivers says it’s amazing to him, too, but it’s not something he talks about often. He has other things on his mind. He’s competing for playing time in a crowded field of talented running backs. All of them are bigger than he is. None of them are as fast as he is, and none of them have experienced what he has.

Competing was his focus after last season. Even after the campus shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic and Shivers went home to Fort Lauderdale, his focus didn’t falter.

“Well I can say that, when we had the break, when we were back home for that long period of time, I was working out every day, working my craft, working my game, working on catching the football, working on things I need to add to my game, catching kick returns and catching punts and things like that," Shivers says. "I was doing that a lot when I was back home, and now it’s transferred over here to the field, so I can say it’s going to be a big year, it’s going to be a good year.”

STANDING OUT IN PRESEASON PRACTICE

Word from Auburn’s preseason practices is that Shivers has been a highlight. He’s run hard and fast as he has been doing for most of his life. He’s emerged as a leader, one who offers support even to those with whom he competes.

 

Shivers on the run against Texas A&M last season. (Photo: 247Sports)

“We don’t really think about how many carries we’re going to get a game or how much we’re going to play in a game,” Shivers says. “We’re just here to support each other and get better as a room, as a unit. At the end of the day, whoever gets the most carries or whatever, all us are going to go out there and do what we do, because that’s why we came to Auburn - to make plays, do what we’re being taught and add more explosiveness to the offense.”

‘IN LOVE WITH AUBURN’

 Shivers, despite his size, was a 4-star recruit as an athlete out of Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Fort Lauderdale. His elite speed turned recruiters’ heads. He had offers from, among others, Georgia, LSU, Baylor and Kentucky. He visited Auburn for the first time in the spring of 2017, and he was immediately hooked.

“Shaun has been in love with Auburn since Day 1,” his mother says. “I sent him there for one day by himself, and he fell in love in love with it. When he was on his way home, he said ‘I’m committing to Auburn.’ I said ‘No you’re not. You’ve been there one time.’”

In October, Shivers committed to Auburn. In December, he signed.

"That’s kind of who he is," McIntyre says. "Once he is invested in something, it’s where he wants to be. So far, he’s had a good experience there. There has been some trials trying to get the opportunity to show what he can do, but other than that it’s been good for us."

‘NEVER COACHED A KID LIKE HIM’

At Auburn, Shivers had to fight the same doubts he’d fought since he started playing youth football as a 4-year old. He’d run for almost 4,000 yards in his final two years of high school and led his team to the 3A state championship, but he didn’t look the part of an SEC running back. Dameon Jones, his high school coach, had no doubts. He’d seen it all before.

 

 

“I never coached a kid like him, honestly,” Jones says. “In four years, he never missed a practice or missed a game. He might be the shortest guy on the field, but you are talking about an energizer bunny, spark plug, and the heart of a lion. I’ve never seen a kid so fearless, and he was one of fastest runners in the country.

“He’s smaller than most people and probably the smallest person on the field at most times, but I don’t think he knows that. That’s how he carries himself on and off the field.”

‘A GAME-CHANGER’

Jones echoes those thoughts. Some players, he says, are just different. And Shivers is one of those.

“He’s a game-changer,” Jones says. “I’m excited to see what he’s going to do this year. He’s been making plays since he’s been there. When he’s given the opportunity, he’s going to make plays. I’ve had some doozies in my day, but he was just different.”

 

Shivers led Chaminade-Madonna to the Florida 3A state championship. (Photo: 247Sports)

It’s not surprising that Shivers became an elite athlete. His cousin, Harry Adams, signed to play football at Auburn and lettered in 2008. When injuries cut his football career short, he became an All-America sprinter. Shivers’ older sister, Shankeise, ran track at Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kan., until an injury ended her career. His mother was a track standout at Dillard High School and later ran and coached for the Fort Lauderdale Track Club. His younger brother, Marcus, is a junior linebacker at Chaminade-Madonna. His grandfather was a standout football player at Dillard.

Shivers planned on moonlighting as as a sprinter on the Auburn track team last spring while also practicing football, but COVID-19 shut down those plans.

“If he’s given the opportunity, I feel like he’ll do great,” McIntyre says. “If people can stop looking at the fact that he is 5-7 and see the potential and just the athleticism and who he is as a person, they can understand the kind of athlete he is. He is a legend here in Fort Lauderdale.

“I’m excited for him. I’m excited to see what’s going to happen.”

AN EARLY TASTE OF SUCCEESS

For Shivers, the journey to Auburn started in the Fort Lauderdale youth leagues, which is where he became known to one and all as “Worm.”

“Nobody could catch me, and I used to break tackles,” Shivers said during his sophomore year at Auburn. “No one could see me, and I’d go out the backdoor and score every time. Everyone just called me Worm.”

Soon, Shivers was running  track, too. When he was 7, he had the nation’s second fastest 100-yard dash time for his age group. By the time he was in high school, he was standout in football and track.

“He was always fast,” McIntyre says. “We’re an athletic family. His sister is as fast he is.”

A FIT FOR MORRIS’ SCHEME

In two previous Auburn seasons, Shivers has rushed 125 times for 657 yards and six touchdowns. He’s caught seven passes, though that number is likely to increase dramatically in first-year coordinator Chad Morris’ scheme.

Like most of Auburn’s offensive players, Shivers is excited about Morris’ scheme. He says it’s a fit for him and his game.

“I can say, really, everything. It’s everything about an offense that I like,” Shivers says. “Basically, get your playmakers the football. And it’s explosive plays. That’s what Auburn does. We’re here for explosive plays and to get the playmakers the football. The offense is really good.”

HOW SHIVERS’ PLAY FOR THE AGES HAPPENED

Whatever happens, Shivers will always have Nov. 30, 2019, when the roar from Jordan-Hare Stadium shook the ground. The play that took down Alabama was in the gameplan for wide receiver Anthony Schwartz, but Schwartz was injured on the first play of the game and did not return. Auburn coach Gus Malzahn wanted to call it anyway, and Shivers had run it earlier in the season.

Malzahn called it, and Shivers charged through McKinney and into Auburn history.

“That’s been kind of crazy,” Shivers says. “Every time I’m on social media I always see a new post about the hit. Even when I go out sometimes, I go out to Walmart or get food, people always stop me like, ‘How does it feel to be a legend here at Auburn?’ You know, that’s just been kind of crazy. I didn’t know it was going to blow up like that. People still talk about it to this day."

[Maverick.AU 13,291]

Will always love this dude!

[aubiefifty 18,231]

i hope they release his pic of him running over the bama db on an auto rookie card. how epic would that be? if the passing game is really going to open up and our kids have the changes down i look for some serious running lanes to open as well. we are loaded for bear if our o line is good. and i think our d line is going to be better than people think after losing the studs we lost.................

[McLoofus 35,182]

Pretty wild watching a rocked up 5'7 RB light up this NFL season opener right now. But nah, wouldn't ever work in the SEC. Well, except for that same guy, who won a national championship out of the SEC last year and got drafted in the first round.

[Barnacle 9,107]

46 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Pretty wild watching a rocked up 5'7 RB light up this NFL season opener right now. But nah, wouldn't ever work in the SEC. Well, except for that same guy, who won a national championship out of the SEC last year and got drafted in the first round.

Dude is killing it!

[McLoofus 35,182]

7 hours ago, Barnacle said:

Dude is killing it!

Perfect back for that offense. Fun to watch and so glad he's not our problem anymore!

[bigbird 60,939]

30 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Perfect back for that offense. Fun to watch and so glad he's not our problem anymore!

So glad we have our own nightmare to give to other teams. I'm so excited that Worm is ours

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 minute ago, bigbird said:

So glad we have our own nightmare to give to other teams. I'm so excited that Worm is ours

I bet Chad giggled the first time he saw him run live. 

[bigbird 60,939]

Just now, McLoofus said:

I bet Chad giggled the first time he saw him run live. 

Giggled, then said, "Gus, what the hell were you thinking the last two years"

[McLoofus 35,182]

Just realized New England would be a perfect place for Worm to land. Not sure what their contract situation will look like after this year, though.

Really hoping Clyde E-H keeps having success. Just gonna add dollars to Worm's rookie contract.

[SuperAUsome09 749]

On 9/11/2020 at 5:28 AM, bigbird said:

Giggled, then said, "Gus, what the hell were you thinking the last two years"

Watching a looped video of Shivers trucking Mckinney will get that response every time. I'm not saying I love that video, but I may have to watch it one more time......for the 211th time. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

9 minutes ago, SuperAUsome09 said:

Watching a looped video of Shivers trucking Mckinney will get that response every time. I'm not saying I love that video, but I may have to watch it one more time......for the 211th time. 

In terms of sheer holy ish factor, that was the single biggest play for me since the Kick Six, and it's not particularly close. I scared the dog, I made the kids cry, obviously I made Mrs. Loof angry... It was glorious. 
 

[WarTim 3,525]

My lovely Bride tackled me in our den.