Career of recently drafted Auburn RB ‘far from smooth’
Recently-drafted Auburn football running back Tank Bigsby, who was taken with the No. 88 overall selection in the third round of the NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, had a collegiate career on the Plains that was “far from smooth” — this, at least, according to Jaguars Wire’s Adam Stites.
The reason? A brutal transition from Gus Malzahn to Bryan Harsin during the COVID-19 pandemic that limited Bigsby until Cadillac Williams, the coach who recruited No. 4 to the Plains, elevated his stock with more unpredictable schemes for defenses to contend with to mask the Tigers’ subpar offensive line. Stites highlighted Bigsby’s flirtation with the transfer portal following the 2021 season in his bearish assessment of the road Bigsby had to go down in Auburn.
“The collegiate career of Bigsby was far from smooth,” Stites wrote. “After joining Auburn when Gus Malzahn was head coach, the running back opted to stay when the team fired Malzahn and hired Bryan Harsin at the end of the 2020 season. Then when several coaches and players left the program after the 2021 season — including starting quarterback Bo Nix — Bigsby entered the transfer portal. Eventually, he changed his mind and finished his college career where he started.”
Former Auburn football RB Tank Bigsby landing with Jacksonville Jaguars a shocker
As Stites pointed out, Bigsby had no prior visits with the Jaguars — making the decision by Jacksonville to draft the former Auburn football RB1 a shocker considering that other NFL teams had him on their radar.
“Like Brenton Strange earlier on Friday, Bigsby was pretty shocked that it was the Jaguars who decided to pick him,” Stites wrote. “While Bigsby said he spoke to the Jaguars at the combine and at his pro day, it was radio silent in the weeks leading up to the draft. Other NFL teams like the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals brought Bigsby in for a visit, but the Jaguars steered clear.”
Bigsby landed in a state bordering Alabama on a team that just had one of the all-time NFL postseason comebacks. All things considered, the road should be easier for Bigsby behind a formidable Jaguars offensive line.