For David Irons, college football was a struggle against adversity almost from the start. He didn’t qualify out of high school, thought he’d made it after one season of junior college, found out he hadn’t and underwent two knee surgeries before he finally played two years at cornerback for Auburn.
Kenny Irons had his struggles, too, after starting his career at South Carolina and transferring to Auburn and fighting injuries his senior year, but nothing like his brother’s.
Through it all, both were successful and popular players at Auburn, laughing all the way. Kenny had a breakout season in 2005, rushing for 1,293 yards, the fourth-best single-season total in Auburn history. He was named the Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year. David spent two seasons as a lockdown cornerback. Both earned Auburn degrees.
Kenny was chosen in the second round of the 2007 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. David went lower than hoped and expected, in the sixth round to the Falcons.
Today, David is in training camp competing for the starting cornerback job vacated by DeAngelo Hall. Kenny suffered a severe knee injury last summer, missed the entire season, and was waived Friday by the Bengals because he didn’t pass a physical examination.
Kenny must deal again with the painful side of football.
David Irons Sr. said Saturday that Kenny’s setback is temporary. The Bengals, he said, have told his agent that, if he clears waivers, they will re-sign him and place him on injured reserve for the season.
Kenny suffered a torn ACL and meniscus in the first preseason game last summer, but his troubles were just starting. He didn’t recover his full range of motion and underwent a second surgery. After that one, an infection set in. He was hospitalized for two weeks and underwent yet another procedure.
“Kenny is really frustrated,” David Sr. said. “You get frustrated and a little depressed. He’ll fight through it. I think taking this year off will be the best thing. You can’t come back in one year and be the same player after an ACL. The best thing for him will to rehab fully and come back and be the player the Bengals thought he was when he was drafted.”
And if the Bengals decide they are going in another direction?
“Kenny is a player,” David Sr. said. “Kenny will be playing for somebody. He’ll be fine. He’ll be in the Pro Bowl in three years.”
David spent last season as a reserve defensive back for the Falcons, playing most often on special teams. But Hall is gone to the Oakland Raiders, and the opportunity for advancement is there.
“David is fine,” David Sr. said. “Really, it takes a couple of years to really recover from an ACL. He wore a knee brace his last year at Auburn. He’s really in the best shape I’ve ever seen him in. He’s getting off the ground, he’s leaping faster. He has so much more confidence in his game.”
Meanwhile, David Sr. is continuing to have an impact on the college and pro games by training players in the offseason. At Georgia Training Alliance in Duluth, he has position coaches, weight facilities, speed training facilities and even a 40-yard indoor field. This summer, he and his staff worked with current Auburn wide receivers James Swinton and Rod Smith, running back Ben Tate and safety Zac Etheridge.
David Sr. predicts big things for them all. Smith and Swinton, he said, will put to rest concerns about Auburn’s receivers. He said they have been well-prepared by wide receivers coach Greg Knox.
“Coach Knox is one of the best receivers coaches I know,” David Sr. said. “I think they are going to have breakout years. And look out for Ben Tate, too.”
David Sr. and his two sons formed Irons 2 Impact to help prepare underprivileged young athletes to get the most of themselves in and out of competition. The foundation’s vision is “to reach unrepresented youth between the ages of 8-18 and young adults ages 19-24 as an agent of change through sports programs and activities promoting leadership, life skills, character and personal development.” Numerous former players, including former Auburn and NFL star Steve Wallace, are involved in that mission.
“We’ve got kids who come to us and their moms really couldn’t afford training,” David Sr. said. “It’s an opportunity to give kids something to do instead of being on the streets.”
