Todd J. Van Emst | Special to the News

Ask an Auburn football player about his inspirations, and chances are good you’ll get a list of gridiron greats.

Bo Jackson. Tom Brady. Jerry Rice. LaDainian Tomlinson. Deion Sanders. Reggie White.

Senior offensive lineman Tyronne Green’s heroes play on a slightly different field.

“Boyz II Men,” Green says, with a big smile. “Al Green. Marvin Gaye.”

The 6-foot-2, 309-pound Green may be the only R&B fan in Lee County who spends his afternoons hitting a blocking sled. But being a baritone means as much to him as being a blocker.

“Music is my joy; it lifts me up when I’m down,” Green said. “When I’m having problems, I just put in some music. It’s like a hobby thing for me. I love singing and music.”

His teammates know Green as a quiet leader — at least when it comes to speaking up in the huddle or in the locker room. But musically? “Quiet” is the last word that applies, according to defensive end Sen’Derrick Marks.

“He always sings,” Marks said. “He walks and sings everywhere he goes.”

Green has always had music in his spirit. He jokes that as a child, he joined his church choir practically before he learned to talk.

He hasn’t slowed down since then, singing everything from gospel and R&B to country and western.

“I’m pretty open with everything,” he said. “In the locker room, I tend to bust out in song if I’m feeling it.”

He’ll even let his teammates ride his musical coattails.

“They usually try to join in and blend in with me so they sound good,” he said. “I just let them sing along.”

Blending in with a group is never a problem with Green. At times last season — his first year as a starter — he blended into the background.

Most of the attention paid to Auburn’s offensive line focused on freshmen Lee Ziemba, Ryan Pugh and Chaz Ramsey. Green was an afterthought, at least in the public eye.

Not that he minded.

“I don’t need all the spotlight on me,” he said. “I don’t live for the hype. I just try to be a good, solid, consistent player. Somebody will notice it.”

Someone did. At the end of the season, Auburn’s coaches gave Green the Ken Rice Award, granted each year to Auburn’s best blocking lineman.

As an offensive lineman, Green is far more than a singing sideshow. He was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection this preseason; one publication even rated him a second-team preseason All-America.

His top-notch technique, physical ability and passion to win intrigued offensive line coach Hugh Nall from the start. Green, a Pensacola, Fla., native, was recruited as a defensive lineman. But Nall looked at Green’s skills and saw the potential for offensive-line greatness.

As a redshirt freshman, Green moved from defense to offense, following a path blazed by former AU guard Ben Grubbs. He spent two seasons as a backup to Grubbs, later a first-round draft pick of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens.

Nall knew from the start that Green had Grubbs-like potential.

“Great athletic ability, great hip flexibility, knee bend and then a real aggressive attitude,” Nall said of Green. “That’s what I look for in an offensive lineman. … Tyronne’s got a chance to be a good player.”

That’s music to Green’s ears.

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