AUBURN, Ala. – Two former Auburn student-athletes received prestigious awards during the 2020 football season.
Former football standout Jack Driscoll won the Cliff Hare Award, the highest honor an Auburn male student-athlete can receive. The Cliff Hare Award is presented annually to a student-athlete who, in addition to athletic and scholastic achievements, exhibits in great degree the qualities of leadership, integrity and courage.
"It's the culmination of a lot of aspects that went into winning that award," said Driscoll. "I was really honored to be nominated. To actually win the award was amazing."
Driscoll joined Auburn's football program in 2018 as a graduate transfer from the University of Massachusetts, starting at right tackle for the Tigers for two seasons, earning Auburn's newcomer of the year award in 2018 and offensive lineman of the year honors in 2019.
"When you transfer there are a lot of unknowns," Driscoll said. "I'd never been to the South, but when I got there the guys on the team really made me feel at home. Academically, the same way. People accepted me with open arms and really helped me.
2020 Cliff Hare Award winner Jack Driscoll started on Auburn's offensive line from 2018-19
"I made a lot of meaningful connections and friendships that will last long past those two years. Auburn really made me feel like home. It was a place that, even when I was being recruited, I saw people who were similar to me, who embrace that hard-work mentality."
Selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Driscoll started four games while playing in 11 in his rookie season.
Off the field, Driscoll earned his MBA from Auburn University's Harbert College of Business while twice making the SEC Academic Honor Roll. He led a group of student-athletes that built housing frames for families who lost their homes when tornadoes hit Lee County, Alabama, in 2019 while assisting victims with a food drive.
Two-time equestrian national champion Haley Pembroke won the Leah Rawls Atkins Award, given annually to a female student-athlete who exemplifies scholarship, character, leadership and athletic accomplishments.
"This award came as a big surprise to me," said Pembroke, a graduate of the Harbert College of Business with a degree in finance, and a member of the SEC Community Service Team. "It's quite humbling just to be included in the group of female student-athletes who have received this award in the past.
"I've been fortunate to be surrounded by the best coaches and some incredibly talented teammates. This award is a reflection of the greatness that they have built and allowed me to be a part of. Auburn was a great fit for me. I absolutely loved it."
A graduate student at the University of Nebraska, earning her master's in business specializing in intercollegiate athletics administration, the NCAA Women's Enhancement Graduate Scholarship recipient aspires to be a Power Five athletic director or conference commissioner after beginning her career in development.
The COVID-19 pandemic precluded on-field presentations during the 2020 football season, but did not diminish the prestige of these awards or the outstanding accomplishments of the deserving recipients.
2020 Leah Rawls Atkins Award winner Haley Pembroke
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer