F
frdbtrI was wondering if one of you recruiting guru's could let me know who this kid is. The tweet shows a text screen shot with a recruiting note that BYU wants him as their only QB recruit for 2014.
by frdbtr · 3/11/2014
When looking for high school football prospects in California, the quarterback position is usually a good place to start. Six signal-callers are ESPN Watch List members, with several more looking to play their way into the discussion. One of those quarterbacks is Jake Young, a 6-foot, 192-pound athlete at Hanford (Calif.) High School.
It has been a tough season for the Bullpups -- 1-8 on the season with one game remaining -- but the dual-threat Young is catching the eyes of college coaches. He has been to several Fresno State home games and made the trip to UCLA's early home win against Nebraska. Boise State, Michigan, Oregon and Utah are several programs that have expressed early interest as well. Young said Boise State, Fresno State and UCLA have been favorites of his for some time.
"Those are schools I've had interest in since I was a little kid," Young said. "Fresno is just 30 minutes north and I love the Boise program. I have a couple of cousins and uncles who went to UCLA. I love the atmosphere of their games..."
One led his team through the air; The other led his on the ground. But both were the best in Kings County at what they did.
With Lemoore running back Richard Doctor and Hanford quarterback Jake Young both standing out for different reasons, they are the Sentinelâs 2013 football Co-Players of the Year.
Doctor and Young went down similar roads, not just because they lived down the street from one another.
The pair were always at the same camps over the summer. They were always in the same recruiting circles. And they both put up record-setting statistics.
âWe saw each other everywhere,â Young said. âWeâve seen each other at every camp since sophomore year. Weâve been going through the recruiting process together.â
But it was more than just being at the same place at the same time.
âWe talk a lot on the phone,â Doctor said. âIf there was a coach recruiting the other, heâd put a good word in for me and Iâd do the same for him. When we were at camps, we tried to pair up with each other so weâd be throwing to each other.â
When the season started, both went to work.
Young led the Bullpups, completing 179 of 278 passes for 2,643 yards and 17 touchdowns. On the ground, he added another 377 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns.
And Doctor was Lemooreâs main threat. He rushed for 2,504 yards, scoring 35 touchdowns (32 rushing, 2 receiving, 1 kick return). His regular season rushing total ended up being more than any Lemoore running back had ever ran for. Youngâs 6,991 yards passing set a Hanford school record that also put him in the top 10 in the history of the Central Section in career passing yards.
âI think we both knew we had something to prove,â Young said.
So when the two tangled in the Milk Can game, both playersâ teams focused on the other.
âWe had this thing,â Young said. âAll week long, it was âstop Doctor, stop Doctorâ and we will win the game.
âWe held him to 150 yards and that was stopping him. Luckily we did just enough. When we scored that last touchdown, it was the best feeling.â
Lemoore also tried to dial in on the pass.
âWe knew theyâd have a good pass game,â Doctor said. âUnfortunately, we made a few too many mistakes.â
While neither was able to claim a Central Section or West Yosemite League title - like they did as underclassmen - both had plenty of reasons to be proud of their respective seasons.
âPeople thought we were going to be down since we lost a lot of seniors,â Doctor said. âEven though we lost that Clovis game, I think that was when people were able to see that we were going to have a good team. Iâm the most proud of how our team played through a lot of adversity.â
Despite a 1-6 start, Hanford and Young rallied back to win its final three regular season games and make the Central Section Division III playoffs, where Young threw for 380 yards in a first round loss.
âOur team never gave up,â Young said. âLast year, when we started to lose, we kind of stopped trying, but we didnât do it this year. The playoffs didnât go like weâd wanted them to, but we ended the year winning the Milk Can. That made all the hard work feel like it paid off.â
Said Doctor: âI think we accomplished a lot this season.â
Lorenzo J. Reyna @LJ_Reyna Hanford QB Jacob Young receives walk on offer from BYU and is visiting the campus today.