Sean Jackson’s mother let out a squeal of excitement as her son FaceTimed here from the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Auburn’s walk-on running back was a walk-on no more. Jackson informed his mom Friday evening, at the end of Auburn’s 10th spring practice, that he has been rewarded with a scholarship this season. Jackson relayed the information to his mother, Carla Jackson, while standing beside his high school coaches from Hewitt-Trussville -- who were in town for Auburn’s coaching clinic -- and head coach Bryan Harsin.
Read more Auburn football: Observations from Auburn’s 10th practice of the spring
Can Auburn find a role for all six tight ends this season? Brad Bedell believes so
Oregon transfer D.J. James came to Auburn to take a starting job at cornerback
“He’s been working really hard,” Harsin told Carla Jackson as she thanked the Tigers’ head coach. “Thank Sean. He’s been putting in the work, now. He earned it.”
A redshirt freshman out of Trussville, Jackson walked on at Auburn last season and provided some additional depth in the backfield for the Tigers. He appeared in four games and carried the ball 10 times for 38 yards and a touchdown, finding the end zone for the first time during an early-season win against Alabama State.
“He was able to produce,” Harsin said Saturday afternoon. “But just overall, consistency is really what we’d seen from Sean. He’s very—he’s a pleasure to coach. He’s a guy that each and every day, he’s going to show up, he’s going to work, he’s going to do all those things. Just felt very strongly about that.
This spring, Jackson has been particularly valuable to an Auburn running back room that has been short on depth. Senior Shaun Shivers transferred to Indiana in the offseason, while sophomore Jarquez Hunter -- the team’s second-leading rusher last season -- has been sidelined after undergoing a minor procedure on his right leg earlier this spring. Jackson has been working with the second-team offense during the portions of Auburn practices that have been open to the media this spring, getting reps behind starter Tank Bigsby and ahead of Jordon Ingram.
Now the 5-foot-9, 230-pounder -- who had 1,425 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior at Hewitt-Trussville in 2020 -- has been rewarded with a scholarship. That will give the Tigers five scholarship running backs come fall: Bigsby, Hunter, Jackson, Ingram and incoming freshman Damari Alston.
“We had a little bit of fun last night,” Harsin said of informing Jackson of the decision. “No one really knew. I kind of knew what I wanted to do there; I’ve known with him that we wanted to make that move, and so we made it official yesterday. His family was here today, so it was good to see them. It’s always, as a walk-on player, and I can speak from experience, when you walk on and you know that you can contribute, there’s other players on scholarship, and you’re out there doing all the same things and working hard, and to get recognized for that and be noticed for it and be given an opportunity to get your school paid for and all those things — it’s something you won’t forget.
“And his teammates were fantastic. They loved him up, and they’ve got a lot of respect for him. So, that was a cool moment.”
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.
"back" - Google News
April 02, 2022 at 11:35PM
https://ift.tt/FnHDf5C
Auburn rewards walk-on running back with scholarship - AL.com
"back" - Google News
https://ift.tt/xfbQmo6
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Auburn rewards walk-on running back with scholarship - AL.com"
Post a Comment