Jelly Roll Marks Major Milestone in Career With New Honors

Jelly Roll is officially an anthem maker!

The country star's new song, "Get By," has been picked by ESPN as the official anthem of college football for the 2024-2025 season, which kicks off later this month. The new song isn't officially out yet, as it's featured on his upcoming album that's expected sometime later this year, though not much is known about it other than the few tracks that Jelly Roll teased from it: "Liar," "I Am Not Okay," and now "Get By."

He joins several other artists who have been awarded the same honors in the previous 11 seasons that played an official anthem, including Post Malone, Fall Out Boy, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Imagine Dragons, Lauren Alaina, X Ambassadors, Judah & the Lion, Juice WRLD & Marshmello, DJ Snake & Rick Ross, and Yungblud.

"There’s a powerful connection between music and college football and for more than a decade, the ESPN college football music anthem has been integral to the promotion of the sport while its release has marked the unofficial start to the season," said Curtis Friends, VP of marketing at the sports network, in a statement. "Jelly Roll is a talented, award-winning artist whose music speaks to the passion of college football fans across the country, and we’re excited ‘Get By’ will soundtrack the sport all season long."

Born Jason DeFord in Nashville, the rapper-turned-country-crooner has quickly risen to stardom since he first performed at the Grand Ole Opry and released his country debut Ballads of the Broken in 2021, followed by another fan-favorite full country album which he released just two years later, Whitsitt Chapel.

Fast forward to 2024, the first half of this year has also been huge for the artist as his hard work appears to be paying off big time. In February, the 39-year-old was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2024 Grammy Awards, though he ultimately conceded to Victoria Monét. A few months later, he found himself centerstage again, this time being crowned a winner at the CMT Music Awards this past April, where he took home three awards: CMT Performance of the Year, Male Video of the Year and Video of the Year.

His winning streak didn't end there, as Jelly Roll was also awarded an unlikely new title at a ceremony in Michigan last month.

While visiting Michigan's Genesee County Jail–an act of kindness he's extended to several county jails and rehab centers with hopes to inspire those there–on Saturday, July 27, the singer-songwriter was sworn in as a Deputy Sheriff with the Community Cares Task Force, as first reported by Audacy.

Next: Jelly Roll ‘Tops Everything Good He Has Done’ After Pausing Concert to Aid Attendee