West Bladen grad Brandon Council announced Thursday night that he will continue his football and academic career at Auburn University next season as a graduate transfer.
Council, a 6-4, 325-pound offensive lineman, had been pursued by a large number of Division I schools including offers from defending national champion Louisiana State, Baylor, Southern California, Texas Tech, Indiana, Illinois, Houston, Rutgers, Missouri and Iowa State.
The Tar Heel native was able to visit Baylor in-person with his mother Angel Jones before the coronavirus shut down on-campus visits, but technology came to the rescue and he was able to take a virtual tour of the other campuses through Zoom and other platforms.
“Auburn is the best fit for me to showcase my talent and play at the highest level of college football, while preparing myself for the next level,” said Council. “They also offer a great educational program that fits what I want to do after football.”
A three-sport star in football, basketball and track and field at West Bladen before graduating in 2015, Council played offensive line at Jireh Preparatory Academy in Matthews in the fall of 2015 where he raised his SAT score and was recognized as the No. 17 recruit among prep school players by Rivals.com.
“Brandon Council is the best offensive lineman to ever play here,” tweeted Jireh Head Coach Ryan Williams in February. “Huge, powerful and MEAN! He will takeoff!”
In 2016 Council redshirted at Akron University before starting the final 8 games of the season at left guard in 2017 as the Zips received a berth in the Boca Raton Bowl. He ranked 7th in the country for Fewest Pressures Allowed among guards allowing the Akron quarterback to be pressured only 3 times on a total of 263 pass block snaps.
Council started the first three games of 2018 for Akron before suffering a season-ending injury. The Zips won 2 of those 3 games including an upset of Big Ten foe Northwestern. In 2019 the versatile Council started 8 games at guard, 3 games at tackle and once at center.
Since he only played in 3 games in 2017, Council is eligible for a medical redshirt that would give him 2 years of eligibility at Auburn. The Tigers graduated 4 seniors from their 2019 offensive line, so there is an opportunity for immediate playing time.
Council, the son of Angel Jones and Robert Council, is scheduled to graduate from Akron on May 9th with a degree in sports management. He will then begin summer classes at Auburn toward his graduate degree in higher education. “With the graduate degree I will be on a path to become an athletic director after football,” said Council.
In addition to his studies and despite the coronavirus shutdown, Council is keeping his body ready for football with workouts aimed at improving his strength and controlling his body weight. He is also studying his Akron game films looking for ways to improve his play.
One of the highlights of Council’s career at Akron was the opportunity to play against Big Ten schools such as Northwestern and Illinois. Now he will get a chance to play at Alabama in the Iron Bowl on November 28th, and the Tigers will host LSU a week earlier. On September 12th, Auburn will play North Carolina in Atlanta.
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