Junior Jake Harden began playing football at Boyd-Buchanan when he was a sixth-grader and right away showed the athletic skill set to play linebacker and fullback. Little did he know then that playing guard could be in his future.
Buccaneers coach Grant Reynolds saw early last season that some help was needed along the offensive line. After the first game, he approached Harden about making the move from running back to guard.
Not long afterward Reynolds was announcing in front of the team the sacrifice Harden was willing to make, trading in a jersey number in the 30s for one in the 50s.
“I knew from talking with him he was a team player,” Reynolds said. “Jake is willing to do whatever will make the team successful. He understood we had a need there.”
As a fullback, blocking wasn’t foreign to Harden. But he soon found out there was a different mentality to blocking as an offensive lineman. And besides, tackling had been his primary role on the team. He led the Bucs in tackles last year as a junior.