Jacob Huesman will always be Russ Huesman’s son but he could wind up with a bigger reputation that that of the football coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
While his dad has rekindled interest in Mocs football, his son had an immediate impact on Chattanooga sports last fall when he led Baylor to a 24-10 victory over rival McCallie. It was a win that ended McCallie’s win streak at 11.
Jacob Huesman has proved himself to Chattanooga and to teams across the state. In 12 games, he passed for 1,651 yards and rushed for 831 with a 7.3 yards-per-carry average, earning the No. 7 spot on the Times Free Press Dynamite Dozen list of college football prospects.
“Their quarterback is a proven dual threat,” McCallie coach Rick Whitt said.
Huesman was a difference-maker more than once but says his best game was against Battle Ground Academy. He led the Red Raiders from behind by rushing for close to 200 yards.
“A lot of times you wind up having a running quarterback and a passing quarterback,” Baylor coach Phil Massey said. “Jacob gives us two-for-one because of a good arm and great speed. He’s extremely smart – really good football intelligence.”
Huesman’s dad is among the coaches that already have tendered offers to his son, joining Air Force and James Madison, and he might not want to hear it, but Massey believes Jacob is a solid Division I prospect. The Baylor coach said that schools such as Virginia and Georgia Tech are very interested as a quarterback and a couple of SEC schools are looking at him as an athlete.
While his quarterback claims no better than a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash, Massey said Huesman was timed at 4.42 in Baylor’s camp.
No. 7 Jacob HuesmanBaylor6-foot, 190 poundsQuarterbackCollege: He has offers from UTC, the Air Force Academy and James Madison and is being recruited heavily by Georgia Tech and Virginia.Fun facts: Plans to be coaching somewhere in 10 years, and his favorite book is Tony Dungy’s “Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance.”
“He’s fast, but he also has really good feet and he had a 37-inch vertical (jump from a standing position). The kid is just a pure athlete,” Massey said.
The recruiting process is different for Huesman than other prospects because he’ll either sign with a Division I school or likely wind up playing at UTC.
“My options at I-AA are very limited,” he said. “If I can’t play at a large school I think Dad’s going to want me to play for Chattanooga so I don’t have a ton of options as far as mid-majors and smaller schools.”
While he says Russ has been the biggest influence on his football career, the 2009 Mr. Football finalist says life with a college coach is different.
“He knows everybody and that probably helps a lot but we don’t talk a lot of football, not as much as you’d think. He’s not home a ton because of his job,” Jacob said. “We’ll talk about the recruiting and who I have received letters and e-mails from and he does get to watch me play.”
It’s likely Daddy Huesman better watch now because chances are good that in the future he’ll have to watch his son on TV or tape.