Top CB prospect Ahmad Gardner bringing the ‘Sauce’ to NFL

INDIANAPOLIS — Ahmad Gardner is a smart, soft-spoken kid from Detroit who once promised his mom she would never have to work again.

“Sauce” Gardner takes pride in snatching the souls and destroying the dreams of every wide receiver who lines up across from him.

”When I’m in my calm mood, I would say that’s me being Ahmad,” the projected top-10 pick in the draft said Saturday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “But the Sauce is within me, so I’m always saucy.”

The Cincinnati cornerback didn’t allow a single touchdown in his three seasons with the Bearcats covering more than 1,000 coverage snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

He hopes to keep that streak going once he begins his NFL career next season.

“I used to see all the tweets and all the things on social media about it, but it’s not like I go into a game like ‘I don’t want to give up a touchdown,’” he said. “It’s just that my preparation is so, so great to the point where as long as I prepare the right way, that’s the outcome every time. So I don’t have plans on giving one up in the NFL.”

Gardner got his nickname from a youth league coach when he was just six years old and it has stuck.

“There’s not really a meaning, but what I can say it means is a level of confidence,” he said. “When I’m on and off the field, I make sure I’ve got the sauce and it just keeps me going.”

He certainly believes he’s the best cornerback available in the draft and intends to prove it once he’s selected.

“I’ll put the work in and make sure I’m leading by example,” he said. “I’m not a smoker, not a drinker. I never have, never will just to make sure I do the little things right. Like when we won the AAC Championship and they brought us cigars and I didn’t have one. I’m just naturally excited. I don’t need anything to make me feel some type of way.”

He did find joy in fulfilling a childhood promise to his mother, a longtime plant worker in Detroit. While she had a good job, the cost of all the camps and extra instruction would add up as he was an undersized kid with a dream of playing football.

But he would promise her the investments would pay off. Now that he is on the verge of a massive payday, he has kept his vow and had her retire from work.

He has also grown into a 6-foot-3, 200-pound shutdown corner who has navigated potential roadblocks to achieve his dream.

“I had a mother who always made the impossible possible,” he said. “She’s my hero. You’ve got to be strong-minded to get out of Detroit or you’re just going to fall by the wayside. Everybody in Detroit is drinking and smoking and there’s violence. But I had strict parents who made sure I took a different route.”

Opposing receivers probably wish he hadn’t.

‘Punt God’ on center stage

Like most young football players, San Diego State’s Matt Araiza dreamed of playing in the NFL.

But he also had a goal of competing at the combine, an honor rarely bestowed upon punters.

He will get to do just that on Sunday in Indianapolis.

“It was absolutely a dream since high school,” he said. “I really wanted the opportunity to come here and show myself as an athlete because I believe that’s the biggest thing that separates me from other specialists.”

He was also the rare punter to earn a nickname as the “Punt God” persona gained more traction with every booming kick this season.

The former soccer star, who also handled field goals in college and plans to kick off in the NFL, hopes he has helped do his part to make punting cool again. But he thinks the league can also do things like tweak rules to encourage more returns.

“I hope it becomes a down everyone likes to watch,” he said. “The truth of the matter is it’s a period where some people check their phone or go get popcorn. It could be a lot more exciting as it should be.”

Speed on display

A prospective first-round pick running a 4.78-second time in the 40-yard dash isn’t particularly noteworthy.

But when that kind of number is posted by a 341-pound defensive tackle like Georgia’s Jordan Davis, it gets noticed. It’s the fastest time for any player over 330 pounds at the combine since at least 2006.

The 6-foot-6 athlete also posted a standing broad jump of 10 feet, 3 inches, believed to be a record for any player over 300 pounds.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.