With the passing of University at Buffalo football player Solomon Jackson, it has been an emotional past few weeks for the tight-knit Tucker football community.
As in many towns, most players in Tucker start playing together early in elementary school and go all the way through high school together.
Auburn linebacker Justin Garrett, a Tucker product, fought through his Pro Day workout on Monday while thoughts of his former high school teammate raced through his mind.
“It’s been very tough,” Garrett said. “I know how hard of a worker he was. He was a humble and nice kid. It’s been real tough on the Tucker community.”
Jackson died on Feb. 29, a week after experiencing a medical emergency during a team conditioning session. Jackson, a 2013 graduate of Tucker High, was a redshirt sophomore defensive end at Buffalo, where he was majoring in sociology.
He had been in the hospital since Feb. 22, the university said.
“But I know with him being up there in heaven, he just wants us to keep working hard and doing what we are doing,” Garrett said. “I think Thursday night, they had something at the high school. A lot of guys are getting back together, sharing memories that they had of him as a teammate.”
Garrett, while on the bench press, may have channeled some inner-power as he benched press the 225-pound bar 28 times.
“That’ surprised me too,” Garrett said. “I was just going until I couldn’t go any more. Normally, I do 24 or 25 reps during workouts. I was just feeling good and was able to hit 28 reps.”
Garrett, who wasn’t invited to the NFL scouting combine, needed a strong Pro Day to impress scouts. His bench press performance would have been the second-highest of all linebackers at the combine. Only, Clemson’s B.J. Goodson, who lifted 225 pounds 30 times, pushed it up more times than Garrett.
Garrett, 6-foot-1 and 226-pounds, is a weakside linebacker candidate and he’s was assigned at times in college to cover running backs out of the backfield.
Garrett played in 42 games over his career for the Tigers with 15 starts. He was dogged by foot injuries early in his career but came on strong in 2015, when he started 12 games.
“Justin had a great year for us at the linebacker position,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “He was one of our best special teams players, too, which will definitely help him at the next level.”
Garrett will pass an NFL character background check, too.
“He’s a wonderful person,” Malzahn said. “Hard worker. He stayed healthy this year and was really able to show what he can do.”
In addition to the strong bench press, Garrett had a 31-inch vertical jump and a broad jump of 9-4. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.73 seconds before straining a hamstring on his second 40.
“I’m going to get treatment, wait and see how it goes,” Garrett said. “I just wanted to try to come out here and compete. I knew that all 32 teams were going to be here.”
Despite the injury, Garrett attempted to remain upbeat.
“It went pretty good,” Garrett said. “I’m just ready to see where God takes me now. I’m going to meet with some teams after the Pro Day and figure out what’s next for my life.”
Garrett can see a path to a NFL roster.
“I’m looking at the outside linebacker spot,” Garrett said. “I can mainly just work my way up on special teams and try to find a role on a defense from there.”
While Garrett was trying to impress scouts, wide receiver Duke Williams was trying to make the most of a second chance.
Malzahn allowed Williams, who’d been dismissed from the team in October after being involved in a bar fight, to participate.
“I just decided to give him a chance for his future so he can show what he can to the scouts,” Malzahn said. “I made that call last week.”
Cornerback Jonathan Jones of Carrollton had a strong combine and stayed with those performed with similar numbers.
“He was a true blessing to coach,” Malzahn said. “He’ll make it. He’ll be very successful. He can run. He plays bigger than he is. He can tackle and he’s a great special teams player, too.”
About the Author
