Ckelby Givens blew a kiss to the sky and folded his arms across his frame.
dzܳٳ’s star defensive end struck his signature pose after getting his second sack with 9:49 remaining in the final quarter of his team’s 34-15 home-opening win against Kentucky State.
The 6-foot-2, 245-pound edge rusher is already playing at the level that earned him HBCU Defensive Player of the Year in 2024 despite serving as a graduate assistant for nearly the entire offseason until he was granted a fifth year of eligibility in a Baton Rouge court.
Givens was able to play the season opener against Alabama State on Aug. 29 after being added as a plaintiff in a lawsuit that granted more than 30 athletes a temporary restraining order. He remained eligible after being granted a preliminary injunction on Sept. 3 in the same case.
His impact isn’t only reflected in his stats. His teammates benefit from his presence. Southern cornerback Ty Lee feels “blessed” to have Givens back, he said at Wednesday’s virtual media availability.
“Blessed,” the sophomore said. “Just knowing that the quarterback don't have all day to throw the ball. That when we go man (coverage), I can trust that the ball has to come out. That gives me confidence.”
The Givens effect will be needed when Southern faces No. 22 Houston (1-0) at 6 p.m. on Saturday at TDECU Stadium. Southern (1-1) is a 50.5-point underdog and currently 0-18 against FBS programs all-time.
The Jaguars coaching staff said it wanted to be mindful of Givens’ playing time since his first practice came just 10 days before the opener. The graduate student player made his first start in the second game of the season and played in 28 of 66 plays, Southern coach Marshall Faulk said.
That load is not just expected to maintain against Houston but will be what the Jaguars plan to do moving forward.
“To be honest, that's about where I see him throughout the year because I think his effectiveness is when he's fresh and ready,” the first-year coach said. “That's how I like seeing it. He's played whole games. He's played every defensive snap, and albeit he can do that, he's more effective when we're rotating and putting other guys in, and he can get a breather and he can come in. And you just see the disruptor that he is.”
Faulk’s decision to play Givens less in games than in years past isn’t just for his star’s own good. The Pro Football Hall of Fame running back believes in his defense’s depth.
“If we can keep him playing 50% of the snaps, that would be great because we have some other guys that we want to rotate in there,” Faulk said. “I think it makes the defense stronger when we can get pressures and get sacks and Ckelby standing on the sideline.”
Even in his limited capacity, Givens has three sacks and five tackles for loss, which are tied for first in the SWAC and first overall, respectively. In 2025, he led the conference with 18½ tackles for loss and 9½ sacks.
Quarterback pressures will be more challenging for Southern against Houston, which only allowed one sack in its 33-20 win over Oregon State at home. Faulk isn’t shying away from encouraging his players to view this game as an opportunity to see how they measure up against Big 12 talent if they hope to transfer up a level in January.
In Givens’ case, a strong performance against the most talented team on dzܳٳ’s schedule is the perfect audition for NFL evaluators. Before initially returning as a graduate assistant, he went undrafted in the 2025 NFL Draft and was invited to the Buffalo Bills rookie minicamp.
When Givens was back, Faulk told him he doesn’t want to “pigeonhole him” to the edge rusher spot.
“What he figured out when he went to the Buffalo camp was he was a pass rusher, and you have to be multiple,” Faulk said. “You need to be able to play on the second level and maybe drop and maybe, albeit it might be for a split second when they're blitzing, cover a tight end.”
While Givens has only played defensive end thus far, Faulk wants his star to show more versatility to help improve his NFL stock.
The former Indianapolis Colts and then-St. Louis Rams star admitted that he’s not entirely sure whether Givens re-enters the NFL draft or remains an undrafted free agent who can sign anywhere after the college season.
“We don't know what this is going to be like for him,” Faulk said. “This is uncharted waters.”
Givens is still several months away from another chance to try out for an NFL franchise. In the meantime, he has to prove himself against a ranked team along with being dzܳٳ’s unquestioned leader.
“Anytime he speaks, he's speaking from just wanting the team to do better,” Lee said about Givens. “Multiple times throughout the (Kentucky State) game he told us to just keep our heads even-keeled even when we was going up, I think, 20-something to 2. A lot of people let up off the gas as a team, and he told us just keep even-keeled.”