Jessie McCovery, Theodore and Auburn Tight End, Remembered as ‘Big Brother’ by Willie Anderson and Teammates

THEODORE, Ala. — Long before Willie Anderson became one of the NFL’s best offensive tackles, he was a ninth-grader at a state track meet in Montgomery who needed help throwing the shot put. The freshman who showed him how was Jessie McCovery of Theodore High School, and Anderson says McCovery never stopped looking out for him.

McCovery, a former Parade All-American tight end at Theodore who went on to play at Auburn and later spent his career as an educator and coach, died Friday, Oct. 9. He was 53.

Friends, teammates and coaches remember Jessie McCovery as a leader, a gentle giant and, above all, the “big brother” of Auburn’s heralded 1993 recruiting class.

A friendship that began with a shot put

Anderson, who starred at Vigor High School, first met McCovery at the Alabama High School Athletic Association state track meet in 1990, when both were in the ninth grade. McCovery taught Anderson the proper technique for throwing the shot put. The two finished second and third among freshmen in the event, and a lifelong bond began that day.

“That track meet in ninth grade started him taking care of me all those years,” Anderson said by phone on Monday. “We both chose Auburn and we decided to become roommates. And he was my roommate my entire time there. He was like a big brother to me. … He just brought a smile to everybody’s face.”

A four-year starter at Theodore

McCovery was a four-year starter at Theodore under coach Joe Downey, helping the Bobcats reach the playoffs three times. He earned all-state honors and was named to the Parade All-America team as a senior in 1992, one of the most prestigious honors in high school football.

His high school career was intertwined with Anderson’s. In both McCovery’s sophomore and junior seasons, Theodore lost to Vigor in the first round of the playoffs. The Bobcats finally beat the Wolves in the 1992 season opener at Prichard Stadium. The only touchdown of the 7-0 game came in the third quarter, when McCovery caught a 50-yard pass and broke several tackles on his way to the end zone.

Downey remembered a player whose leadership set him apart.

“He was such a leader,” Downey said on Monday. “He was a big guy and very well disciplined, probably one of the best leaders on the team. During the spring before his senior year, we really didn’t let him practice a lot. He couldn’t get much better. We gave him a cap and a whistle and let him coach a little bit.

“It sounds kind of funny, but he was a very loving guy. He loved everyone on the team, all the coaches. He just showed a lot of class when he played and in the classroom and everything. He was a great guy.”

In a 2024 ranking of the top tight end recruits in Alabama history, McCovery was listed at No. 3.

Choosing Auburn together

McCovery and Anderson were among the most sought-after players in the state’s 1993 recruiting class, pursued by top programs across the country. Both grew up Alabama fans, and the Crimson Tide was coming off its 1992 national championship. They even took their recruiting visit to Alabama together.

But each had already decided, separately, to go to Auburn. They signed with the Tigers as part of Terry Bowden’s first recruiting class, a group that also included Mobile-area standouts Bobby Daffin of Vigor and Dameyune Craig of Blount. Among those freshmen, Anderson said, McCovery was the leader.

“We all had that sense of him being the big brother,” Anderson said. “He was the first one to get a girlfriend in Auburn, and she had an apartment. And so from that day on, he became the freshman cooking guy. He cooked for us all the time. Even at the start of my pro career, I don’t have stuff at my house. It was always Jessie doing the cooking, coming back and doing the cooking for everybody. He was great on the grill.”

His Auburn career

At Auburn, McCovery shared time at tight end with Andy Fuller and later Tyrone Dillard. Used mostly as a blocker, he caught nine passes in his college career, and three of them went for touchdowns.

One of those scores came against Georgia in 1995, a 6-yard pass from fellow Mobile-area recruit Craig that gave Auburn a 10-point lead after three quarters. The Tigers won 37-31 and clinched a bowl berth for the first time in five years.

Auburn went 8-4 and reached another bowl game in 1996, but a knee injury limited McCovery to nine games that season. He was invited to the Senior Bowl in Mobile after the season, but he hurt his knee again in practice and did not play in the game.

Anderson’s path to the NFL

Anderson left Auburn after his junior season and was selected 10th overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1996 NFL Draft. He played 13 NFL seasons, 12 with the Bengals and his final year with the Baltimore Ravens, and earned four Pro Bowl selections and All-Pro honors four times. He has been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame several times, including in 2026.

A life spent with young people

Pro football was not in McCovery’s future. Instead, he spent his post-playing years as an educator, coaching part-time at his alma mater, Theodore, and working with children with special needs.

Anderson said McCovery had dealt with health issues in recent years but had stayed in touch with his former Auburn teammates through a group text, writing to them as recently as last Wednesday. His death, announced Saturday on social media by his niece, Jessica, came as a shock.

“He just told everybody that his health was starting to get better,” said Anderson, who has faced health challenges of his own and underwent a successful kidney transplant in March. “He was always just a lovable, joking guy who would always send me stuff. When I had my issues with my kidneys here recently, he stayed calling me and checking on me. It’s just sad, man. I’ve definitely lost a brother.”

Survivors

McCovery is survived by his daughters, Jasmine McCovery and Brionna Walker; his mother, Lillie McCovery Parker; his sister, Angela McCovery (Kelvin) Williams; his niece, Jessica McCovery Williams; his nephew, Tyrone (Sharmella) Peyton; his grandson, Braley Walker; and great-nieces Pylee Peyton and Teionna Sanders.

He was preceded in death by his father, Jessie Sr., who died in 2025, and his daughter, Jordyn, who died in 2020 at age 16.

Funeral arrangements

• When: Saturday, Oct. 17, at 1 p.m.
• Where: Freewater Missionary Baptist Church, 11470 Irvington Bayou La Batre Hwy., Irvington