Burdened by the process of being a professional football player, Jacob Saylors had briefly started to lose two of the things most important for any athlete to have: love and passion.
Without those, getting through the grind of being an athlete is much more difficult, and Saylors was no exception.
The former Marion County High School and East Tennessee State University standout had spent a lot of time attempting to figure out where he belonged in the pro football world.
After a collegiate career in which he had rushed for 3,851 yards (third in ETSU history) and 33 touchdowns, piled up 6,000-plus all-purpose yards for the Buccaneers and earned Football Championship Subdivision All-America recognition, the 5-foot-10, 199-pound running back from Jasper signed an undrafted free deal with the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals in spring 2023.
Staff photo by Robin Rudd / East Tennessee State University running back Jacob Saylors breaks away from the tackle attempt of UTC’s CaMiron Smith during a SoCon game at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga on Oct. 17, 2019. Saylors was versatile during his ETSU career, compiling more than 6,000 all-purpose yards for the Buccaneers.Despite rushing for 38 yards in the Bengals’ final preseason game that summer, he didn’t make their roster for the regular season. After getting cut in Cincinnati, Saylors signed with the Atlanta Falcons as a member of their practice squad that fall, but he got hurt a month later, and he was released at season’s end this past January while still on injured reserve.