Smiles a long time coming

The smile on Jake Young’s face and the twinkle in his eyes weren’t always there.

Certainly not during all the time he spent building himself up to be a college football player and certainly not when injuries slowed his progress. And probably not last Saturday afternoon when he was wiping all the disappointments away.

But since Saturday, after the fifth-year senior made his first start at linebacker for Eastern Washington, after he led the Eagles with 13 tackles, and after the Eagles beat UC Davis 24-7 in the regular-season finale, Young has been all smiles.

The smile will disappear again Saturday night, when Young and the 15th-ranked Eagles (7-4) take on No. 7 Northern Iowa (8-3) in Cedar Falls, Iowa, in the first round of the I-AA playoffs.

“I just want to get on the field,” Young said. “I’ll make the plays if I’m out there.”

It was a long-time coming for the former walk-on from Kamiah, Idaho.

“Without a doubt it’s a great story,” Eagles linebacker coach Travis Niekamp said. “I’m so proud of that kid. Jake hung in there, hung in there, was frustrated about being injured. I told him he would have his moment and he was ready to rock and roll when it happened.”

The story begins in Kamiah, where Young was quarterback and all-state safety for a state championship team, which earned him an invitation from EWU coach Paul Wulff to be a walk-on.

Young sat out a year because of grades, spent a year on the scout team and seemed destined for another year of getting smacked around by the varsity.

“He wanted to get on the field so bad, he was running around on scout team hitting everybody,” Wulff said, a smile building on his face. “Before the trip to Sacramento State we had a seat. We said, ‘What the heck, let’s give him a trip, he’s worked so hard.’ We put him in on a couple special teams plays, and he made some big hits.

“A player was born.”

Well, the start of a player.

“After the season we moved him to linebacker,” Wulff said. “It was rough in the early going, but he got it. He understands football and he has good speed. He has good positive energy.”

Nice compliments, but Young was stunned by the move.

“I came in as a safety and they switched me to linebacker,” he said. “I was way under-sized. I came in like 150, 160 pounds. I was just shocked.”

The 6-foot-1 Young built himself up to more than 200 pounds, but last season a knee injury in the first game slowed him down. Once healthy he was on special teams and a backup linebacker. He finished with 11 tackles, four coming in a first-round playoff win at top-ranked Southern Illinois.

He followed that up by leading the Eagles in tackles during spring practice.

“Coming out of spring ball I basically felt like I had three starters,” Niekamp said.

That was Young’s plan – even though the Eagles only use two linebackers. Then he pulled a hamstring before the first hits were exchanged in fall camp.

“I was so disappointed,” he said. “I knew this was going to be a good season. I knew it would heal but it was hard. The hard part was missing all the two-a-days, it really set me back. I didn’t get back until the second game.”

Seeing spot action in the next eight games, Young had 18 tackles.

Then, in a critical game with Montana State, starter David Eneberg was injured on the first series. Young stepped in and made five tackles and an interception that helped seal a 35-14 win.

That set Young up for his first start because of Eneberg’s sprained ankle, a situation similar to Eneberg starting down the stretch last year because Doug Vincent broke a foot.

“I know he’s capable of playing,” said Eneberg, who will be back this week. “He finally got a chance to do it in a game. I just told him to go out and have fun, read his keys, don’t try to do too much, do your job.”

Young responded with a performance that earned him the team’s weekly defensive honor.

“I think it’s all his heart,” all-league middle linebacker Joey Cwik said. “He has the physical ability, but he loves the game and you can see it each time he’s on the field, whether it’s a game or practice.”

Young took it all in stride.

“It was exciting getting my first start in five years. I was happy about it, but I hope Dave gets better,” he said. “I just prepared through the week. You always have to be ready to go out there.”

Young, who got a fifth year because he’s on track to graduate with a criminal justice degree next quarter, said the roller coaster ride was worth it.

“Even if I never started, it’s been the best experience of my life, meeting these guys, the camaraderie with all these guys. It’s just been a blast,” he said. With a smile, of course.