The last time Austin Hudson played at Raymond James Stadium, things didn’t go so well.
His Plant High School team was running clocked by Tallahassee’s Godby High.
Hudson hopes Jan. 1 will have a different result.
By the luck of the draw, Hudson and his Wisconsin teammates get to play in his backyard NFL stadium in the Outback Bowl.
“It feels really good, especially to get the luck to be able to go down with my family and hang out for a little bit,” Hudson said. “The guys get to see my home and they’re asking me all these questions about where we’re going and stuff. It’s a really cool experience.”
Hudson isn’t the only one rolling out the welcome mat. The Outback Bowl committee kicked off a week of festivities Friday night with a dinner at the A La Carte Pavilion.
Players, university officials and coaches, including former Florida Gators coach Will Muschamp, now a defensive coordinator at Auburn, chowed down on 5,000 pounds of Outback Steakhouse food.
“They do a great job balancing everything,” Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said. “You come here to win a football game, you’ve got practice, your meetings, but they have enough fun stuff for the players to keep it entertaining.”
Click on the video to see highlights from the welcome dinner.