AUBURN, Ala. (AP) Devin Aromashodu debuted at Auburn with a flourish, making a 43-yard catch in his first game at Southern California en route to a solid freshman season.<br>
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Then, the receiver's stats, and his confidence, all but disappeared.<br>
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He caught 18 passes for 304 yards as a freshman, but dropped a few easy passes during the following spring and began to wilt under criticism from fiery receivers coach Greg Knox.<br>
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``I couldn't recover,'' Aromashodu said. ``I'd be lingering on that (drop) instead of the next play.''<br>
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The self-doubt carried over into his sophomore season, when he managed just three catches for 22 yards. Aromashodu returned to form last season with 24 catches for 513 yards a whopping 21.4-yard average and four touchdowns.<br>
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But he spent much of the previous season on the bench.<br>
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``He just wasn't there,'' Knox said. ``He was working hard. He was trying to get better, but his confidence just wasn't where it needed to be. It was obvious that he's a talented kid who is serious about getting better. We just had to wait for him to get that confidence back.''<br>
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Aromashodu got it back last season after a summer of running simple routes and making easy catches over and over.<br>
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``I had to come back out and believe in myself and believe that I can do it,'' he said. ``I had to get out here and catch balls and keep trying hard to do it. That's what made me get over the hill.''<br>
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Aromashodu even found a way to top that big catch against USC. His 51-yarder to open the second half against Alabama helped the Tigers recover from a 6-0 halftime deficit.<br>
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Aromashodu has been even better lately.<br>
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``He's had an incredible fall camp,'' offensive coordinator Al Borges said.<br>
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Information from: Montgomery Advertiser, http://www.accessmontgomery.com<br>
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(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
