The last couple of years have been frustrating for former Auburn running back Kam Pettway.

Starting is career out as a fullback and eventually switching to running back, Pettway rushed for 1,224 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging over 122 yards per game in 2016. In 2017, however, he suffered a variety of injuries and was suspended from the team, and he left school early to enter the NFL Draft. Pettway went undrafted and signed with the Minnesota Vikings, but he was waived shortly thereafter.

Pettway is now an assistant coach at Park Crossing High in Montgomery, Alabama, his hometown.

“Things didn’t turn out like I thought it would,” Pettway told AL.com’s Josh Bean. “I couldn’t sit around and wait on another opportunity, so I started working on my (coaching) career. If an NFL opportunity comes about again, I’ll be ready for it. I’m still working out.

“When I’m coaching on the field, I still run through the drills when I show them an example. I’ll be ready if the opportunity presents itself again.”

Pettway doesn’t seem bitter about how things have gone the last couple of years, and he’s using his story as a platform to help mold younger players.

“I tell those guys … never give up on your dreams, because I’m still chasing mine as we speak, but I try to harp on education, because if you don’t have an education, you’re not going to be too successful in life,” Pettway said. “Like me right now, if I didn’t have an education, I don’t know what I’d be doing at this moment.”