For Auburn Safety Jerrin Thompson, Oklahoma Game is Personal

Jerrin Thompson spent four years with the Texas Longhorns before transferring to the Auburn Tigers.

Auburn safety Jerrin Thompson played the Oklahoma Sooners four times as a member of the Texas Longhorns. / Photo by Zach Bland, Auburn Tigers

Although this is the Red River Rivalry’s first season as an SEC contest, the matchup is nothing new to one member of the Auburn Tigers.

Auburn safety Jerrin Thompson, who spent the previous-four years with the Texas Longhorns prior to joining the Tigers during the offseason, went 1-3 against Oklahoma during his time with the Longhorns.

Thompson hopes to contribute to a win for the Tigers this week to make his winning percentage against the Sooners look better. He's been a key member of Auburn's secondary, leading the team in tackles with 22 through four games.

“It’s something about them (Oklahoma), I just got to get them,” Thompson said. “They done beat more times than I’d like, so we need one.”

Both teams are having issues with the quarterback position. Oklahoma will be starting a freshman in Michael Hawkins Jr., another dual-threat signal caller. Thompson and the Auburn defense have been working to clean up the errors caused by the last two mobile quarterbacks they have faced.

“I know one thing the d-line is trying to improve is keeping the quarterback in the pocket,” Thompson said. “For us as a secondary, when he does get out of the pocket we have to stay on our man. Just being disciplined is basically what we need to do.”

Auburn has unexpectedly dropped two games early in the season. Thompson expressed the importance of staying focused and realizing the team still has a lot to play for.

“To be a defender, especially a secondary defender, you have to have tons of confidence,” Thompson said. “I always preach you’ve got to have a little swag to you, you’ve got to have a little confidence out there. It’s ok to mess up, just play fast. That’s really all there is to it. We got a lot of guys who do have a lot of swagger. I’m confident in what our secondary can do.”

Oklahoma vs. Auburn kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday. ABC and ESPN+ will carry the television broadcast.