More Tigers drafted, one of which Auburn expected to play tackle football

By Andrew Gribble
Auburn University Beat Reporter
Published: June 10, 2009

Auburn righthander Scott Shuman was selected in the 19th round (589th overall) of the MLB amateur draft today by the Tampa Bay Rays. He’s likely going to bite on that offer, so his time at Auburn is finished.

What happened nine rounds earlier, though, isn’t so clear-cut and something the average Auburn fan is likely more concerned with.

Auburn football signee, big running back/linebacker Brandon Jacobs, was selected in the 10th round (318th) by the Boston Red Sox. He’s got an interesting decision to make.

In an interview with AuburnSports.com before the draft, Jacobs said he would probably go if he were selected by the seventh round. Well, he wasn’t, but the Red Sox are certainly a team that can give Jacobs seventh-round money or better.

Auburn is certainly low on linebacker depth this season, but Jacobs wasn’t exactly a marquee signee, so odds of him taking on a major role this year or next are slim. Our guess is that he follows the money and takes his hacks with the BoSox.

Four of Auburn’s baseball signees were also taken yesterday and today. Shortstop Nick Franklin (1st round - Seattle), catcher Luke Bailey (4th Round – Tampa Bay), JUCO transfer starting pitcher Drew Madrigal (11th Round – San Diego) and Garrett Bush (15th Round – Baltimore) could all be out of the mix at Auburn.

UPDATE: Jacobs told AuburnSports.com that he will pursue a baseball career. He offered this amazingly candid reason.

“I’m pretty excited about it,“ Jacobs told the Web site. “I based the decision on the money. Being offered that much is hard to turn down, especially from a great team like the Red Sox.“