Kamryn Pettway addresses questions of character

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Kamryn Pettway addresses questions of character, explains why he left Auburn for NFL

Updated Mar 1, 4:27 PM; Posted Mar 1, 4:26 PM

By James Crepea

jcrepea@al.com

Kamryn Pettway said his suspension for Auburn's 2017 season opener was due to a failed drug test for marijuana, but said he does not have a drug problem.

The former Auburn running back addressed reported concerns about his character as he goes through the draft process and explained why he left Auburn early for the NFL at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

"I've talked with teams about (the suspension)," Pettway said Thursday, nearly five months since he last spoke publicly. "I just tell them what it is, tell them the truth. Learn (from) mistakes. Everything you've got to learn from experience."

He said "family issues" were the reason why he stayed home during the Peach Bowl and has a "great" relationship with Auburn's coaching staff and will be at next week's pro day.

The NFL.com draft profile for Pettway includes a brutal assessment from an anonymous AFC scout who called him a "mess" with "too many character flags to be drafted."

Pettway did not have an explanation for that assessment.

"I don't let it bother me because I know deep down how good of a person I am and other people know that also," he said. "I don't let that bother me. it's nothing I have to worry about."

The Montgomery native had 76 carries for 305 yards and six touchdowns in five games last season while coping with various injuries after leading the SEC in rushing yards per game and ran for 1,224 yards and seven touchdowns in 2016.

Pettway, who intends to do all the physical tests and drills at the Combine, admitted he had "second thoughts at one point" last season about his decision to return for his redshirt-junior season due to plantar fasciitis and the ankle and fractured shoulder blade injuries he incurred.

"The ankle happened running I think the Clemson game, I kind of rolled it. I fought through that," he said. "The shoulder, it happened in my second-to-last play in the Arkansas game. I kind if fell on it and a couple of guys fell on me. I didn't really feel it at the time because my adrenaline was pumping, but when I got to the sideline and settled down a little bit it started to kick in. ... The first couple of weeks (after) I couldn't even pick my arm up on my own."

The married father of a two-year-old said the injuries were a factor in his decision to leave for the NFL even after a shortened season and he's on track to graduate in the spring.

"I felt like I had a great year before and I could've come out last year, but I didn't. I decided to come back but injuries was the only thing that held me back from being successful this year," Pettway said. "I felt the time was right (to enter the draft) because I had a long, hard, adverse year. I graduate in the spring with one class (left). I have a family I have to support, so I felt like it was the right time to leave."

His 22 bench press reps tied for fifth among running backs at this year's Combine and is tied for 15th among running backs over the last three years.

Having played both H-back and running back at Auburn, Pettway said he can fill an NFL team's needs at multiple spots in the backfield and hopes to showcase his hands a bit as well once on-the-field tests and drills begin Friday.

 

"That's something I didn't get a chance to really show off at Auburn, that I could catch, but that's something that I plan on showing this week," Pettway said. "I feel like as a big back a lot of people sometimes would think they're slow or can't move. I feel like I can move also as a big back and not just move straight downhill. ... Where I feel like I have to grow the most is my pass protection techniques. Sometimes I get a little overextended. That's nothing I can't fix though."

James Crepea is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @JamesCrepea.