Freshmen Jakes, Winters Ready to Roll
7/12/2019 3:44:00 PM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Jordan Jakes doesn't flinch. In truth, what's the point? Less than two months into his Indiana football adventure and downplaying Hoosier prospects is, well, silly.
Jakes isn't at this Memorial Stadium interview to be silly. Not after what the freshman receiver has seen of the Cream & Crimson talent pool.
Yes, Jakes has plenty to learn about the Hoosiers and upcoming opponents, but that doesn't mean he can't recognize a good thing coming.
Make that some very good things.
"It's exciting," he says.
Jakes knows a lot about winning. He never lost a high school game. The Georgia native helped Eagle's Landing Christian Academy win three straight state titles. As a senior he transferred to St. Francis Academy in Maryland. St. Francis went unbeaten and finished with a No. 5 national ranking while playing a national schedule.
Rivals.com rated Jakes as Maryland's No. 18 prospect. He projects as a good fit for offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer's versatile attack.
He says his strengths are "Deep routes and deep balls."
"That's what Coach DeBoer loves. That's what I love to do."
Unlike most freshmen, who use the summer to gain weight, the 6-5 Jakes is trying to lose. The goal is 212 pounds. He's at 216.
The transition to college has "been smooth," he says. "I feel I'm well prepared for camp. I'm ready to get things rolling."
Rolling will come from fierce competition. IU is loaded with receiving talent led by veterans Nick Westbrook (42 catches for 590 yards and four touchdowns last season) and Donavan Hale (42, 508, six). They are the latest in a series of strong Hoosier receivers that helped convince Jakes this was the place for him.
DeBoer and receivers coach Grant Heard pushed perspective, sugar coated nothing. Not every program recruiting Jakes did that.
"(IU coaches) were more real. They told me what was going to happen and what I needed to do to be great. I've seen that so far."
Fellow freshman Ivory Winters has gotten his own dose of reality from the running back competition.
Winters counters with this approach:
Sometimes a guy has got to show his moves.
And so the 6-foot, 216-pound Winters does.
He displayed plenty of elusiveness, as well as power, as a record-setting high school running back out of Missouri. The goal now is to do it as a Hoosier.
"I like running through people and juking people," he says with a smile.
And then, for emphasis …
"I like juking."
Winters juked his way into scoring-machine status at Hayti High School. As a senior, he had 59 touchdowns. As a junior, it was 37 touchdowns.
He added 2,700 rushing yards in 2018 – plus found time to play defensive line – to help Hayti go 15-0 and win Missouri's 1A state championship.
Overall, Winters was rated as the nation's No. 49 running back by 247Sports. ESPN.com had his as Missouri's No. 15 prospect.
A versatile athlete, he was a member of Hayti's state-title-winning 400-meter relay team in 2018, and was also a two-time all-district forward in basketball.
All that was done at a small school. The challenge will be much greater at IU and the rugged Big Ten East. Summer workouts have provided an early indication.
"It was hard to adjust to it," Winters says, "but once I came here and got into the motion of things, I got the hang of it."
Playing opportunity could be a challenge given running back is likely IU's deepest position with Stevie Scott (1,137 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns last season), Ronnie Walker Jr. (141 yards, 2 touchdowns), Cole Gest (428 yards in 2017)) and fellow freshman Sampson James (3,451 career yards at Avon High School in Indiana) topping the competition.
"You see how the running backs go hard every day," Winters says, "and how they show me the plays and how I'm learning the offense."
As for why Winters chose Indiana, he says, "it was how we're building as a family, the things the coaches make us do to push us to go harder."
Winters gets plenty of pushing from running backs coach Mike Hart and head coach Tom Allen, who says Winters has the physical skills to be an impact running back.
"He may need some time to figure it all out," Allen says, "but physically when he walks in the room, you would notice him as a guy that looks like he could play on Saturdays."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Jordan Jakes doesn't flinch. In truth, what's the point? Less than two months into his Indiana football adventure and downplaying Hoosier prospects is, well, silly.
Jakes isn't at this Memorial Stadium interview to be silly. Not after what the freshman receiver has seen of the Cream & Crimson talent pool.
Yes, Jakes has plenty to learn about the Hoosiers and upcoming opponents, but that doesn't mean he can't recognize a good thing coming.
Make that some very good things.
"It's exciting," he says.
Jakes knows a lot about winning. He never lost a high school game. The Georgia native helped Eagle's Landing Christian Academy win three straight state titles. As a senior he transferred to St. Francis Academy in Maryland. St. Francis went unbeaten and finished with a No. 5 national ranking while playing a national schedule.
Rivals.com rated Jakes as Maryland's No. 18 prospect. He projects as a good fit for offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer's versatile attack.
He says his strengths are "Deep routes and deep balls."
"That's what Coach DeBoer loves. That's what I love to do."
Unlike most freshmen, who use the summer to gain weight, the 6-5 Jakes is trying to lose. The goal is 212 pounds. He's at 216.
The transition to college has "been smooth," he says. "I feel I'm well prepared for camp. I'm ready to get things rolling."
Rolling will come from fierce competition. IU is loaded with receiving talent led by veterans Nick Westbrook (42 catches for 590 yards and four touchdowns last season) and Donavan Hale (42, 508, six). They are the latest in a series of strong Hoosier receivers that helped convince Jakes this was the place for him.
DeBoer and receivers coach Grant Heard pushed perspective, sugar coated nothing. Not every program recruiting Jakes did that.
"(IU coaches) were more real. They told me what was going to happen and what I needed to do to be great. I've seen that so far."
Fellow freshman Ivory Winters has gotten his own dose of reality from the running back competition.
Winters counters with this approach:
Sometimes a guy has got to show his moves.
And so the 6-foot, 216-pound Winters does.
He displayed plenty of elusiveness, as well as power, as a record-setting high school running back out of Missouri. The goal now is to do it as a Hoosier.
"I like running through people and juking people," he says with a smile.
And then, for emphasis …
"I like juking."
Winters juked his way into scoring-machine status at Hayti High School. As a senior, he had 59 touchdowns. As a junior, it was 37 touchdowns.
He added 2,700 rushing yards in 2018 – plus found time to play defensive line – to help Hayti go 15-0 and win Missouri's 1A state championship.
Overall, Winters was rated as the nation's No. 49 running back by 247Sports. ESPN.com had his as Missouri's No. 15 prospect.
A versatile athlete, he was a member of Hayti's state-title-winning 400-meter relay team in 2018, and was also a two-time all-district forward in basketball.
All that was done at a small school. The challenge will be much greater at IU and the rugged Big Ten East. Summer workouts have provided an early indication.
"It was hard to adjust to it," Winters says, "but once I came here and got into the motion of things, I got the hang of it."
Playing opportunity could be a challenge given running back is likely IU's deepest position with Stevie Scott (1,137 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns last season), Ronnie Walker Jr. (141 yards, 2 touchdowns), Cole Gest (428 yards in 2017)) and fellow freshman Sampson James (3,451 career yards at Avon High School in Indiana) topping the competition.
"You see how the running backs go hard every day," Winters says, "and how they show me the plays and how I'm learning the offense."
As for why Winters chose Indiana, he says, "it was how we're building as a family, the things the coaches make us do to push us to go harder."
Winters gets plenty of pushing from running backs coach Mike Hart and head coach Tom Allen, who says Winters has the physical skills to be an impact running back.
"He may need some time to figure it all out," Allen says, "but physically when he walks in the room, you would notice him as a guy that looks like he could play on Saturdays."
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