Former Auburn AD, current Florida employee Jay Jacobs weighs in on Saturday’s game
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Few people will be as invested come Saturday when Auburn and Florida meet in The Swamp than Jay Jacobs.
After being involved with Auburn athletics in some capacity for 35 years, including his time as a member of the football team, the former Auburn AD now works in Gainesville under Florida AD Scott Stricklin following the conclusion of his career on The Plains. Now the man that hired Gus Malzahn at Auburn is helping the Gators achieve glory on the field over the Tigers.
During his playing career at Auburn, Jacobs even played in Gainesville back in 1982. The Gators beat the Tigers on that day, 19-17.
Looking back at that game, what’s the one thing that stands out to Jacobs about playing in The Swamp? How close Florida’s students are to the opposing bench.
“I remember sitting on the bench between series and a high school buddy came and tapped me on the shoulder,” Jacobs recalls according to Scott Carter of FloridaGators.com. “That’s how close the students were. The benches were back against the wall at the time. It was just a really tough place to play and it will be that way here on Saturday.”
Considering all his history with Auburn, there’s no doubt Jacobs will be conflicted come Saturday. Despite that, he was willing to offer up his prediction for the game.
“The thing that I’ve told all my buddies and my family feels the same way, we hope Auburn goes 11-1 and we hope the Gators go undefeated,” Jacobs said. “Just as I’ve always done, I’ll continue to pull for Auburn except on Saturday.”
Jacobs also shared what he planned to say to Malzahn, should he run into the coach he hired at Auburn.
“I’m glad he is doing so well,” he concluded. “I hope I get to tell him on Saturday night, ‘Good luck the rest of year. Maybe you’ll win the rest of them and we’ll see you in Atlanta.’ “
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
