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Jessie “The Hammer” Tuggle wasn’t the biggest kid coming out of high school. Even after being voted MVP of his Griffin High School football team that he led to the state semi-finals his senior year, Division I recruiters thought he was too small to compete at their level.
In fact, at only 5’10 and 180 pounds, most Division II schools were also turned off by Tuggle’s size. His story goes to show that recruiting doesn’t tell you how much heart a player has or how dedicated.
Valdosta State College’s head coach Jim Goodman must have caught a glimpse when he offered the undersized defensive end a scholarship in 1982. The only other scholarship Tuggle would be offered was from University of West Georgia.