Everyone loves when walk-ons get placed on scholarship and Auburn has had a few this offseason.
One of the most recent was running back Justin Jones who also graduated on Saturday.
Jones is going into his third season as a Tiger and has been active on special teams since arriving on the Plains.
Jones discussed the hard work that got him to this point.
"Honestly just dedication, staying down and working hard," Jones said. "Having a good support system behind me and getting me to where I need to be to do what I did. My mom and dad have been my main source of energy throughout all of this. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to make it as far as I did."
Jones, a native of Bessemer, Alabama, talked about how much playing for Auburn means to him.
"It's a dream come true," Jones said. "I've been an Auburn fan since I came out and it just seems so unreal even when I'm here now it still doesn’t feel as real as it seems. When I first got here I met all these cool guys and got to be around these superstar people and I was shell-shocked."
Jones talked about staying in contact with Brian Battie, an Auburn running back who was involved in a shooting this offseason that claimed the life of his brother and left him in critical condition.
"We have a group text and we all text him and he's doing a lot better now," Jones said. "We're all happy to hear about him and his recovery."
Jones talked about what he hopes to prove this season.
"When I came in I had a lot to prove, not just to myself but people from my childhood growing up," Jones said. "It's always been in the back of my mind, I was told when I was younger that there's not a lot of things that a person of my stature would be able to do."
Auburn kicks off the season at home against Alabama A&M on Aug. 31 at 6:30 p.m. CT. The broadcast can be found on ESPN+/SEC Network+.
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