Jake Locker
| Jake Locker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Pac-10 |
| Sport | Football |
| Position | QB |
| Jersey # | 10 |
| Class | Sophomore (2008) |
| Nickname | "Montlake Jake" |
| Career | 2007–present |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Nationality | USA |
| Born | Ferndale, Washington |
| High school | Ferndale High School, Ferndale, Washington |
Jake Locker (born in Ferndale, Washington) is an American football player. He is the 2007-present starting quarterback at the University of Washington.
High school career
In 2005, he led Ferndale High School to a 14-0 record and a state title, throwing for 1,603 yards an 25 touchdown passes for the season with only 3 interceptions. Locker was an excellent running quarterback, as he also rushed for 1,338 yards and 24 touchdowns during his senior year. [1] Locker earned first-team All-America honors from Parade.[citation needed] He was also named the 3A state player of the year by the AP and Seattle Times, and earned first-team all-state honors from both organizations.[citation needed] In the 2005 Washington 3A state title game, Locker had four touchdowns and 272 total yards in a 47-12 win over Prosser High School.[2]
He helped Ferndale to a No. 8 ranking in USA Today's final West Region rankings, and a No. 12 ranking in MaxPreps.com's final national rankings. He was one of four Seattle Times "Blue Chip" recruits, ranked No. 5 nationally at QB, and No. 1 in the West, by PrepStar. Locker also ranked 85th in Scout.com's National "Hot 100" and ranked 68th overall and fourth among "dual-threat" quarterbacks in Rivals.com's national rankings. As a junior, he threw for 1,314 yards and 16 TDs and rushed for 987 yards and 15 TDs. Locker led Ferndale to a 13-2 record and a Washington 3A state runner-up finish in 2004, and was selected first-team all-state by the AP. As a sophomore, he threw for 713 yards with nine TDs, while running for 478 yards and three scores. In addition to quarterback, Locker played four years as a defensive back at Ferndale and was the first freshman ever to start in coach Vic Randall's 21-year career. Locker was also a standout baseball pitcher and outfielder. [citation needed]
College career
In 2006, Locker won UW's Pepsi Player of the Week Award for his work on the service team after the Fresno State, Arizona and Washington State games. He made the travel squad for every game, and suited up for all 12, but didn't see any game action. During this time Locker quarterbacked the UW service team. Locker in 2007, was named the Rivals.com Freshman of the Week following his two rushing TD performance in the opener at Syracuse. He carried the ball 10 times for 83 yards and went 14-for-19 passing for 142 yards. He was named the SIonCampus.com Player of the Week after leading the Huskies to a 24-10 win over then 20th-ranked Boise State, snapping the Broncos' 14-game win streak. During a loss to Arizona, he became the 19th player in college football to pass for 300 yards, and run for 100. Locker was handed the starting quarterback position prior to the start of spring drills and emerged from pre-season drills as the team's starter.
On November 10, 2007, Locker was injured during a game against Oregon State University, and was removed from the field by an ambulance and taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis, Oregon. He was able to return to the stadium in the fourth quarter to watch the end of the game, though he was wearing a neck brace.[3]
Locker was named to the Rivals.com 2007 Freshman All-America Second Team [4] and was named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year[5]. In 2007, he set UW records for rushing yards in a season by a freshman (986), rushing yards in a season by a quarterback (986), rushing attempts by a quarterback (172), passing yards by a freshman (2,062), touchdown passes by a freshman (14) and longest pass completion (98 yards to Marcel Reece vs. Arizona). He is projected to have 75-1 odds of winning the Heisman Trophy in 2008.[citation needed]
During summer of 2008, Locker played outfield for the Bellingham Bells of the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League[6], where he was named by Baseball America as the league's top prospect. [7]
On the 4th day of practice going into the 2008 season, Jake Locker partially tore his hamstring. He resumed full practices on August 18th, 2008.[8]
In the Huskies' second game of the 2008 season against Brigham Young University, with the Huskies trailing 28—21, Locker scored a rushing touchdown with two seconds remaining to bring the score to 28—27. After tumbling into the end zone, Locker threw the ball up into the air in a celebratory gesture and was assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. This backed the point after touchdown kick, which was to tie the game and in all likelihood send it to overtime, from the 3 yard line to the 18 yard line. The kick was blocked and UW lost the game by that 28—27 margin. The call was seen as controversial, in that it followed the letter of the rule dictating that players who score a touchdown must hand the ball over to officials in an orderly fashion but some believe violated its spirit, because Locker's act of throwing the ball was simply an emotional reaction to a big play and not an attempt to taunt his opponents or delay the game.[9]
Personal
Jake's father, Scott, and three uncles starred at Ferndale High School and went on to Western Washington University. He has two sisters, Alyssa and Erika. Jake is very involved in the community. He was close friends with Chelsey Ebert, a fifteen year old girl, who died from cancer on December 26, 2007. In spring of 2008, Jake shaved his head in her honor.
References
- ^ "Jake Locker Player Stats". Statewide Stats. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
- ^ http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20051202&slug=web3agrid02
- ^ Condotta, Bob (2007-11-10), Huskies' Locker taken off field in ambulance, Seattle Times, retrieved 2007-11-10
{{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Condotta, Bob (2007-11-27), Locker, Tolar named to All-Freshman team, Seattle Times, retrieved 2007-11-27
{{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Yanity, Molly (2007-12-03), Locker named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, Seattle PI, retrieved 2007-12-03
{{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ http://www.bellinghambells.com/team/rosterbios/index.html?player_id=19
- ^ "Summer College Leagues: Top 10 Prospects". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
- ^ "Jake Locker is Back". Jake-Locker.com. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Tim Booth. "No. 15 BYU holds on for 28-27 win over Washington". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
External links
- Jake Locker Official University of Washington profile
- Jake Locker at ESPN.com
- Jake Locker at Scout.com
- Jake Locker high school statistics.