2010 Heisman Hopefuls: Jake Locker, QB, Washington
It is unusual for a team that only had five wins to have a player get talked about as one of the top picks in the coming draft; you would think if he was really any good than the team would have done better than five wins. That is exactly the case for the Washington Huskies and their quarterback Jake Locker.
Locker could have easily been one of the top picks in the 2010 NFL Draft. In a surprising move though, the young quarterback from Bellingham, Washington, decided to stay in school for his senior season.
ESPN analyst Todd McShay made some waves when he dubbed the Washington QB the future #1 pick in the 2010 draft. This especially drew attention since the NFL Collegiate Advisory Board had told him he would likely not go in the first round. Mel Kiper Jr., another analyst for ESPN, had named Locker the #1 pick of the draft as well, but the 2011 one, not the 2010 draft.
Described as a bigger, taller version of Steve Young and a future #1 draft pick must mean that he is pretty good and what he does. Anyone that can be referred to like that must be talented enough to compete for the highest individual honor in college football, the Heisman trophy.
High School
The quarterback of an undefeated state champion team is going to get some attention from college scouts. However, when they see that he only threw for 1603 yards they might not be as impressed even though he did have 25 touchdown passes and only three interceptions. Then when they see that he also had 1339 yards and another 24 touchdowns on the ground, then his passing statistics become much more impressive.
His efforts were enough for him to be named a Parade, AP, and Seattle Times First Team All-American as well as the 3A state player of the year by the Associated Press. Locker would be ranked fifth in the nation at quarterback (by PrepStar) and 85th overall (by Scout.com). As a dual threat quarterback he would be ranked 4th.
A natural athlete, Locker was also a 4-year starter at defensive back and a talented pitcher and outfielder on the baseball team.
College
Players like Locker are ones that colleges hope to keep in-state, and Washington did just that.
In 2006, he did not see any action although he did make the travel team for each away game. The following year though he took up where he left off in high school, rushing for 986 yards off 172 carries as well as passing for another 2062 yards collecting 14 touchdown passes along the way. Even though he threw one more interception than he did touchdowns, he was still given a 75: 1 chance of winning the Heisman in 2008 (which went to Sam Bradford from Oklahoma).
Injuries cut short his 2008 season although he still managed to throw one touchdown pass on 500+ yards of passing. It would be his junior year as a Husky that would really impress though.
Early in the season they were faced with a tough match-up when they faced the #3 ranked team in the nation in the USC Trojans. In a tough contest, it would come down to a late game drive with Locker at the helm that would lead to a 22-yard field goal to win the game. The win would put the 2-1 Huskies into the top 25 at 24th, the first time the Huskies had cracked the top 25 since 2003.
By season’s end Locker would go on to to throw for 2800 yards with a completion percentage of 58.2% and just under 400 yards in rushing. Through the air he would contribute 21 touchdowns with an additional seven on the ground.
While the statistics may not look like what you might expect in a #1 draft pick, his play on the field does. In the final regular season game for the Huskies in 2009 he dismantled a tough California team for 248 yards off 19 for 23 passing and three touchdowns as well as rushing for two more.
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