Running back Tank Bigsby will wear No. 4 on his jersey with the Jacksonville Jaguars as he did at Auburn, Callaway High School in Hogansville, Georgia, and even before that.

Bigsby sees the No. 4 symbolizing a special attitude he hopes to exude.

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“Four, it means so much to me,” Bigsby said during an appearance on the “O-Zone” podcast on the Jaguars’ official website, “because, like, you get three strikes, you’re out. How about one more strike? Is you going to make up for that? I just feel like the No. 4, it means so much. I always had the number since I was in rec league. I rock with it because like I was saying, you get three strikes. How about you have a warm heart and give somebody another strike? That’s the fourth strike. That’s how I rock with four. I love it.”

Bigsby joined the Jaguars in the third round of the NFL Draft on April 28 after he led Auburn in rushing in each of his three seasons on the Plains. He completed his career for the Tigers with 2,903 yards and 25 touchdowns on 540 rushing attempts and 448 yards on 62 receptions.

But sometimes it was a bumpy road, and Bigsby played for two head coaches and two interim head coaches in three seasons.

In Bigsby’s first season, Auburn went 6-5 in coach Gus Malzahn’s final year, with defensive coordinator Kevin Steele guiding the Tigers in a 35-19 loss to Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl.

Auburn lost its final five games – including a 24-22 quadruple-overtime loss to Alabama – in coach Bryan Harsin’s first season to finish 6-7 in 2021.

In Bigsby’s final season, Harsin was let go after eight games, and Bigsby’s position coach, Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, led the Tigers in their final four games.

“The things we went through at Auburn, I feel like it made me a better man,” Bigsby said. “It made me a better person. It grew me as an athlete. Just being around guys, we’re trying to overcome adversity, overcome what we was going through. But it’s nothing too much that we couldn’t get over, so we got together, and it taught me a lot about family. I’m a family guy, but it taught me way more about family, teammates coming together, a player-driven team.

“What it did for me, I feel like it’ll do for the next level. Just get me ready for adversity. A lot of guys don’t go through adversity in college. Everything be smooth. We had a lot of bumps in our road, and I feel like when adversity comes in the league, it’ll be easy to overcome because of all the adversity at Auburn.”

Travis Etienne served as the centerpiece of the Jaguars’ running game in 2022 with 1,125 yards and five touchdowns on 220 carries in 17 regular-season games.

“I like his game,” Bigsby said. “He can hit home runs. He’s a good guy. I’ve heard that he’s a great guy – cool, relaxed guy. Ready to get around him and learn from him. Just make the running-back room better. Do what we have to do, compete our butts off and just go do what we got to do so the team can win.”

Bigsby will get his first work with Jacksonville at rookie minicamp, which is scheduled for Friday and Saturday. The Jaguars drafted 13 players this year, but Bigsby was the only running back.

“Can’t wait to get around those guys,” Bigsby said. “Can’t wait to get around the team just to compete, work hard and try to get to the Super Bowl this year.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.