Jay Jay Wilson isn’t a wide receiver. Or a tight end. Or an H-back. Or a linebacker.

Jay Jay Wilson is whatever Auburn needs him to be.

“I never really envisioned anything other than giving my all in everything I do,” Wilson said of his role with the Tigers. “It's what I do."

Signed by Todd Graham and Arizona State to play safety at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, Wilson first played on the defensive side of the ball in 2015. Wilson transitioned to the offense as an H-back/tight end hybrid — then back to the defense.

He had three receiving touchdowns in 2016, then 47 tackles, two sacks and a pick-six the following season.

In March, Auburn signed the west coast-bred athlete as a grad transfer to add to its depth at fullback. But as fall camp wore on and the Tigers dealt with injury after injury to their receiving corps, Wilson stepped up.

The position switch was, obviously, nothing new.

“When I first started, I never had a set position,” Wilson said. “Growing up, I played everything from left guard to free safety. High school, I played free safety, linebacker, running back, wide receiver. So it (move to receiver at Auburn) wasn't really something I thought was going to happen, but if it needed to happen, I knew I could do it.”

The senior stepped up in camp and has now found himself split out wide game after game, with seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown this season, including two receptions for 47 yards in Auburn’s most recent win over Ole Miss.

“It's been a crazy one — came from a whole ‘nother division, from a whole different side of the country,” Wilson said. “But it's been easy in a sense of my teammates making it easier. … The experiences have been fun, playing in the SEC has been fun.”

2019 will be Wilson’s first and last season on the Plains. It’s his first and only impression of Gus Malzahn and the Auburn offense, and his only year to play with Bo Nix.

But he’s seen already seen everything he needed to see to assure him about the future of his soon-to-be alma mater with Nix under center.

“Bo is a real special kid,” Wilson said. “He's got a lot on his plate. So it's amazing, more so, to see how he handles everything like a champ … It's crazy to watch him grow as much as he did from summer all the way to now, you know?

“… I just feel like — he's always been a great leader, but I feel like he's coming more so into, like, keeping the outside noise outside. That can be hard to do, especially as a young kid, it being your first year as a starting quarterback in the SEC at Auburn. I feel like he's done an amazing job — better than I could say I could do.”

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