Tank Bigsby didn’t have an easy road at Auburn. Two head coaches (Gus Malzahn and Bryan Harsin) were fired by the university during his three-season collegiate career and the Tigers posted a 17-19 record.
It’s the most losses Auburn has accumulated over a three-year span in seven decades, but the 2023 third-round pick thinks all those struggles mean he’s better prepared for a professional career with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“The things we went through at Auburn, it made me a better person,” Bigsby told John Oehser on a Jaguars.com podcast. “It grew me as an athlete. We were trying to overcome adversity, overcome what we were going through. I’m a family guy, but it taught me way more about family. It taught me about teammates coming together, being a player-driven team. That’s what it did for me.
“I think it got me ready for adversity. A lot of guys don’t go through adversity in college. Everything is smooth. We had a lot of bumps in our roads. I feel like when adversity comes in the league, it’ll be something I can overcame because of the adversity I went through.”
During the 2022 season, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence — who lost only two games at Clemson — admitted that his confidence wasn’t tested until he reached the NFL and dealt with a difficult rookie year. Bigsby hopes those challenges are already in his rear view mirror.
Bigsby finished his collegiate career with 2,903 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns on 540 carries for an average of 5.4 yards per carry.
