This Auburn football star beat out his SEC rivals. But they weren’t on the football field.
Academy Sports and Outdoors held its celebrity fishing tournament this week ahead of the Bassmaster Classic in Birmingham, Alabama, and a former Auburn Tiger took home the title.
Marlon Davidson, a projected first-round NFL Draft pick, reeled in the winning spotted bass to help his team win the event, which took place in Gadsden, Alabama, Wednesday morning.
His late-morning catch weighed in at 3.5 pounds and put his partners Dan O’Sullivan and local fishing professional Tracey Robinson in the lead, paving way to a first-place finish at the 2020 Academy Sports and Outdoors Celebrity Tournament.
This year’s field of anglers included SEC Network broadcaster Greg McElroy, former Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, former Cowboys defensive lineman and current SEC Network analyst Marcus Spears and former Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight.
The six teams of two were led by professional bass anglers Jacob Wheeler and Duck Commander Justin Martin along with other members of the bass community.
Teams had to deal with rising water, rain showers and changing temperatures as storms rolled through the southeast on Wednesday.
The winning team presented the YMCA of Greater Birmingham with a scholarship and water safety-related product donations.
Davidson, a 6-4, 303 pound defensive end, is projected to be a starter in the NFL within his first two seasons, according to his NFL Combine profile.
Davidson, a four-year starter at Auburn, was most effective when playing outside the tackle. He finished his senior season with 30 solo tackles, 7.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He finished his career on the Plains with 174 total tackles (90 solo) and 14.5 sacks.
Davidson took home first-team All-SEC honors as a senior after tying Derrick Brown for the team lead with 12.5 tackles for loss.
Davidson ran a 5.04 40-yard dash at the combine, and took part in the bench press, where he completed 21 reps.
