Auburn football team to honor Pat Sullivan with special helmet during Outback Bowl

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — During the Outback Bowl Wednesday, the Auburn Tigers will be paying tribute to one of their own.

In a message shared on Twitter Tuesday night, Auburn unveiled a special helmet with the “7” printed on the side to honor Pat Sullivan, a Heisman Trophy winner and former Auburn quarterback who died Dec. 1.

Sullivan was born in Birmingham and played football at John Carroll Catholic High School before going on to play for Auburn. Between 1969 and 1971, Sullivan led the team to a 26-7 record. In 1971, he received the Heisman Trophy.

After several years in the NFL, where he played for the Atlanta Falcons and the Washington Redskins, Sullivan went into coaching, first as a quarterback coach at Auburn from 1986 to 1991 and, after stints at Texas Christian University and UAB, was the head coach at Samford from 2007 to 2014.

Sullivan died on Dec. 1 after battling cancer for years.

Auburn will face Minnesota at noon Wednesday in Tampa. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.