Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1467458
J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 2 3 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Being able to get to certain things, getting your read quick and getting downhill. It really starts up here, and then once you get your legs working it's … natural from a sense of just making the movements." Jacobs' path to developing those brain paths, to getting to the instinctual part of the game more quickly, has been complex. The talented linebacker is a natural athlete. On his high school highlight reel, he displayed just about every type of sheer athleticism one could imagine. He outjumped just about everybody on the basketball court. He exploded as a high-school wide receiver, and he terror- ized offenses as an outside linebacker. He even returned punts. Asked if — back then, when every- thing flowed so nat- urally and involved almost no consideration — Jacobs thought football would re- quire as much brainpower as it does now, he interrupted the question before it was finished. "Not at all," he said. "No. Not at all. "Up until my senior year of high school, I thought football was all just pattycake. I was just out there trying stuff." He would get his route from his coach. He would run the route, and, invari- ably, the route would work. But Jacobs quickly found out there was a lot more to Big Ten football than that. " I d i d n 't eve n k n ow a b o u t watching film throughout my high school years," he said. "We had film as a team, but we just kind of watched it, not like a joke, but we're watching it and we're laughing about plays and pretty much watching it like it's a movie. "I really learned this past season that film is one of the most impor- tant things, because that's when you see the tendencies and you'll be able to build that anticipation part. That way, it's pre-snap and you're already ahead of the offense. You already know what they're doing based off certain looks. That's been really important for me. It's helped me out the most." With a year of starting experience and the knowledge that comes with it now in the back of his mind, Jacobs is no longer Penn State's exciting young up-and-comer. At linebacker, he's the new talisman. Both Brandon Smith and Ellis Brooks moved on to the NFL following the 2021 season. That means Jacobs will line up alongside super senior Jonathan Sutherland — an experienced safety making the move to linebacker — and either redshirt freshman Kobe King or third-year sophomore Tyler Els- don. Neither of those two players has amassed more than 100 career snaps at the college level. Even by college football standards, Jacobs' transition from hot prospect to veteran has come quickly. He's also making the move to Will linebacker — just as Smith did during his junior season — to open the door for Sutherland to play Sam. With that in mind, Penn State head coach James Franklin didn't ask Jacobs to be- come an immediate leadership voice this spring. Instead, he emphasized a con- tinuation of the path Jacobs has walked since his arrival: learn the details, and, by extension, unlock an ability to play the game faster. "Right now, with him learning his new role and subtle adjustments on the de- fense, I wouldn't say that [leadership] is Jacobs, who ranked sixth on the team last season with 61 tackles, is moving from the Sam to the Will outside linebacker spot this year. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL