Auburn's Eltoro Freeman brings a new attitude to the Game

While 2009 didn’t go exactly as Freeman planned, but he wouldn’t change it one bit. “I don’t think it was a lost year,” he said. “I learned a lot from the ’09 year, mentally, how to handle things. If I could change ’09, I wouldn’t. I would want it to be the way that it happened. I think that made me the person and the player that I am today.” A new attitude and more realistic expectations as a backup to senior Craig Stevens, Freeman is ready for a fresh start. “I realized it’s not about me, it’s about the team,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if I get 10 tackles or no tackles, as long as we’re winning and I’m doing my assignments right.” Freeman, who in the spring of 2009, stood out in a shallow linebacker pool and was quickly penciled in as a starter on the strong side. Although playing in the SEC required more than just physical gifts. Freeman was lost at times, confused by his assignments and consumed by trying to do too much. He started at Tennessee but missed a tackle on wildcat quarterback Nu’Keese Richardson, who broke off a 41-yard run on the game’s first play. Freeman sat out the rest of the game. “They could see the frustration,” Freeman said. “Coaches were always just talking about, ’Toro, it’s OK, just calm down. You can live to play another day.’ If I’d mess up on one assignment in a game or whatever, I’m like, ‘Aw, man, I blew it.’”