Auburn fans know the story even if the national spotlight never lingered on No. 35. Justin Jones did not arrive on the Plains as a five-star.
He walked on after two quiet years at UAB, earned a scholarship the hard way, and spent four seasons doing the unglamorous work that wins games in November and earns a shot in August.
That path now includes an NFL roster.
The Seattle Seahawks signed the former Tigers running back — first in early August after a rookie minicamp tryout, then again on Aug. 25 after a brief waiver — as they shuffled depth at running back and special teams during preseason.
Jones is 6-foot-1 and 214 pounds, a Bessemer Academy product who rushed for more than 2,500 yards in high school and won two state titles.
At Auburn, he was never going to be Jeremiah Cobb. He was the special-teams staple who played every game in 2023 and 2025, blocked a punt at Arkansas last fall, and piled up coverage tackles. When the Tigers finally put him in the backfield in 2025, he made the most of it: 11 carries for 53 yards (4.8 per attempt), a career-high 35 yards against Mercer, and a pair of carries and a catch against Alabama.
That is the Auburn résumé Seattle noticed. Jones was a Burlsworth Trophy nominee as a walk-on, an SEC Academic Honor Roll member, and the 2022 offensive scout-team player of the year. Coaches talk about “putting it on the line.” Jones did that for years before anyone handed him a scholarship.
The NFL is unforgiving. Jones was waived once already this camp after appearing in Seattle’s preseason opener (one carry, three yards).
Getting brought back days later is the kind of second look reserved for players who show up on special teams and do not fumble the details. That is the same profile that kept him on Auburn’s roster through coaching changes and crowded running-back rooms.
For Tigers fans, this is the version of the NFL dream that feels honest. Not every Auburn back becomes Bo Jackson.
Some become the guy who blocks a punt in Fayetteville, earns a degree from the College of Liberal Arts, and keeps showing up when a team needs bodies and toughness in August.
War Eagle travels well — even to the Pacific Northwest. If Jones sticks on the 53 or the practice squad, it will be because he did on the Plains what he is doing now: finding a role, doing it well, and refusing to leave.
