Sauce Gardner Real Name | How did he get his nickname?

Know everything about Sauce Gardner Real Name | How did he get his nickname?

What is the real name of Sauce Gardner?

The New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner is one of the top defensive players in the league. In his first season in the NFL, he has already been named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team as well as First-team All-Pro in the year 2022.

Gardner attended the University of Cincinnati from 2019 to 2021 where he became the only true freshman to be named to the American Athletic Conference first team in his first year at Cincinnati.

Following his sensational junior year, he got himself drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft and the Jets selected Sauce in Round 1 and 4th in Overall.

No doubt, Gardner is one of the best youngsters in the National Football League, and Jets fans are in love with Sauce. However, Sauce is not his real name, as, his original name is ‘Ahmad Gardner’.

Meaning of Gardner’s original name ‘Ahmad’

Sauce has never revealed what is the meaning behind his real name ‘Ahmad Gardner’, however, as per BehindTheName.com, the actual meaning is, “most commendable, most praiseworthy” in Arabic.

Sauce Gardner Middle Name

Gardner is much famous for his nickname “Sauce” and his last name “Gardner”, however, he does not have any middle name.

Why is Gardner called by his nickname ‘Sauce’?

Though people mostly know him by Sauce Gardner, his real name is not just that. The full name or birth name of Gardner is Ahmad Gardner. He barely uses his full name, but just uses the name Sauce, replacing the original name Ahmad. So fewer people know about his full and original name except for his first and last name.

However, it is barely known that Sauce did not get his nickname by birth, but was later called by his then coach, Coach Tez, at just the age of 6 because of his ‘cutback moves‘ at a very young age. He said,

“I had the moves. I was playing running back. I was saucy with the juke moves.”

He also added his eating habit with sauce as he stated,

“I would get like three Sriracha sauces and dip everything in it – my burger, my nuggets and my fries.”

Not only that, but he also revealed how his coach used to call him during his school days, “A1 Sauce Sweet Feet Gardner.”

Born to his Asian-American parents, he was raised by his mother Alisa Gardner along with his brother Allante and his fathers’ name has not been revealed as of now. But with proper support from his family and guidance from his coach, Ahmad inherited the given nickname until his college.

Sauce had to earn his nickname

Ahmad even revealed how he had to earn his name, with the Jets, when asked about it on AP Pro Football Podcast,

“I don’t mind. It happened in college. It’s something that comes naturally. A playmaker is a playmaker. It’s not something I go into practice or games thinking I gotta do this so they can call me ‘Sauce.’ It’s just going to come naturally like it did in college.”

Ahmad living by his name ‘Sauce’

Sauce aka Ahmad Gardner is not just enjoying his unique name, but rather living the name, on and off the pitch, being able to create a persona around the same name.

He has even given a separate meaning to his name ‘confidence’, as he stated,

“My personal meaning is a level of confidence. When I’m on and off the field, I make sure I’ve got the sauce. That just keeps me going.”

He added,

“When I’m in my little calm mood, it’s just me being Ahmad. The Sauce is within me, so I’m always Sauce. I have to know when to flip the switch up and turn the switch off.”

Sauce Gardner Jersey Number and Name

The former Cincinnati cornerback wears Jersey Number 1 for his current team New York Jets. And the name written on the back of his jersey is “GARDNER“.

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