What we saw and heard on Tuesday as Auburn gears up for Cal
What we saw and heard on Tuesday as Auburn gears up for Cal
Sam Jackson V's "espionage," Jadyn Ott's status, a pair of huge freshman jumps and some Payton Thorne insight highlight these takeaways.
WR Sam Jackson V (Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers)
It’s becoming increasingly more common in the wide-open transfer portal era of college football, but that doesn’t mean it’s less noteworthy when it happens.
On Saturday, Sam Jackson V will take the field for Auburn against Cal — the team he played for last season. Jackson was Cal’s starting quarterback in a grind-it-out, 14-10 game that Auburn won late. This time, he’ll be catching passes from former high school teammate Payton Thorne as a wide receiver.
It hasn’t taken long for Jackson to become absorbed into the SEC, saying Tuesday afternoon before practice that the Week 2 matchup with Cal “definitely means more” because of what happened with him in Berkeley last year. Jackson only played in the first five games for the Golden Bears before getting benched in favor of Fernando Carmona, who will start at quarterback Saturday.
“It was more like I wish I could've had another opportunity,” Jackson said. “Not saying that they didn't give me another opportunity, but I just had to be smart about what I did and what was the next move. Because the ultimate end goal is to play in the NFL, and I just didn't know if my future there would take me there — not because of the team, but just because of the situation.
“But I got an opportunity to do something bigger and be a part of something bigger than myself at Auburn. So, honestly, it was kind of, like, bittersweet. It wasn't like I was mad at the program or mad at the coaches. It was just that God has a different plan for me.”
Jackson says he misses the friends he made at Cal, along with the easier access to higher-end fashion stores like he had in the Bay Area. He arrived for interviews Tuesday afternoon wearing a rare pair of Off-White Nike sneakers and an old Oakland Raiders hat — another football entity that recently relocated from Northern California.
But he’s back with another old friend in Thorne, playing his old position. He made a splash in his Auburn debut, soaring high for a 37-yard touchdown catch thrown by backup quarterback Hank Brown.
“Me and Payton, this first game, didn't really get to play with each other much,” Jackson said. “We probably will this next game.”
As a former member of the Cal roster, Jackson will be a resource for teammates and coaches throughout the week as Auburn prepares for the return visit. The quarterback-turned-receiver shared some of his insights on what the Golden Bears will bring to the Plains on Tuesday afternoon.
Here’s more on that, along with the rest of what we heard in our interview sessions Tuesday afternoon and a 20-minute practice viewing window.
WR Sam Jackson V (Auburn Football/Instagram)