There is no description for Jake Ables. Even his Soddy-Daisy coaches are at a loss for words.
They can tell you what he does and how he does it and when he’s supposed to do it, but is the 5-foot-10, 230-pound junior a blown-up linebacker or a shrunk-down defensive tackle? They shrug their shoulders.
The Trojans’ roster has him listed at three positions without mentioning that he is record-setting running back Cedric Edwards’ favorite blocker. Coaches call him a noseguard, but he’ll have a hand on the ground for one snap and then he’ll be standing up grizzly-style and backed off the line for the next. He’s part tackle, part end and part linebacker.
Ables is both chaser and attacker. He is a crossover in a hybrid defense designed to attack, confuse and debilitate in one fell swoop, and Ables and his defensive mates will be under the gun tonight in Murfreesboro when Soddy-Daisy meets Riverdale in Round 2 of the Class 6A playoffs. Riverdale beat Franklin County 48-0 while Soddy-Daisy topped Lincoln County 26-17 last Friday.
Soddy-Daisy’s unique defense takes on Riverdale’s capable passing game and what can be an overwhelming running game.
“Jake isn’t fast, at least not 40-yard-dash fast, but he’s quick – super-quick for 5 or 10 or 20 yards,” Trojans coach Kevin Orr said.
Coaches know he can run. Even as a 250-pounder in the summer when he was attacking every weight and protein bar with gusto, Ables was still clocking a 4.8 40-yard dash. He’s now 20 pounds slimmer but a beneficiary of the extra muscle work.
The Trojans defense was designed pretty much by Courtney Braswell and is run now by former Austin Peay quarterback Gary Orr, Kevin’s son and an admitted film room junkie.
“It’s hard to say if he makes the defense or the defense makes him,” Gary said of Ables. “With our defense, as well as we flow to the ball, most of the time nobody stands out and everybody is fairly equal in tackles. It’s a group effort, but given the opportunity and with his ability Jake can take advantage in one-on-one situations. I haven’t seen an offensive lineman that was quick enough or strong enough to deal with him.”
Said Kevin Orr: “When he’s standing up it’s to confuse quarterbacks who are pretty good on reading defenses, and also to confuse offensive linemen.”
Even the cornerbacks are greatly involved in the Trojans’ run defense.
“As a matter of fact, [corner] Jackson Ward is right up there with our leading tacklers,” Gary Orr said. “We disguise a lot of what we’re doing with our schemes. We run a defense that no one else in the state runs.”
Ables was voted by 5-AAA coaches as the district’s defensive player of the year.
“I guess I have a little talent,” the junior said. “I think, though, much of what I have done is 90 percent scheme and 10 percent ability. A lot of [the success] is the talent around me. I’m thankful for the ability God gave me, but a lot of my success comes from my coaches and teammates.”