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Justin Northwest's Jake Strong makes prediction come true with commitment to Texas Tech
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- Justin Northwest's Jake Strong makes prediction come true with commitment to Texas Tech
When he was in elementary school, Jake Strong was asked to jot down his future plans on a piece of paper.
After taking a few moments to ponder the prompt,he wrote that he was going to be a varsity letterman during his freshman year of high school.
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His statement may have been far-fetched to his teacher, or even friends that got a chance to read it. Little did they know, the burgeoning athlete was writing his future into existence.
Since the first grade, Strong put in the work to ensure that his words were not in vain. At that time, he was trained by Ryan Roberts, a former Baylor quarterback from 2006-08, and worked with his father and former semi-professional defensive lineman, Dean, almost every day after school.
The passion he had for the game ran deep, which meant Jake Strong did whatever it took to succeed from the start. He was training more than many middle school or high school players, and certainly more than the rest of his elementary school peers.
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Even though he was young, Strong knew what kind of path he was on. His goal of being a varsity freshman was a prophecy, not a hopeful wish from a child.
"Quarterback has always been my forte," Strong said. "I've always loved the sport, and it's always been my passion. There wasn't one specific moment where I went 'Wow, this is it.' It's really always been that for me."
Fast forward to 2019, and Strong would prove his younger self right.
With senior quarterback Austin Ahmad about to graduate, Justin Northwest head coach Billy Poe decided to pull Strong up to the varsity team. That week, he would make his varsity debut in the Texans' homecoming game against Fort Worth Polytechnic.
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Normally, a backup quarterback would have to wait until the game was out of reach to go in. However, Strong was sent in on the third offensive series of the game in the first quarter.
He was thrown into the fire, and had the first chance to prove himself. The pressure didn't phase Strong, though, as he led the Texans down the field for another score, ending with his first-career touchdown pass to make the score 28-0.
No more words on a paper—Jake Strong had arrived.
Now a senior, the three-star and Texas Tech commit enters his third season as Northwest's full-time starter. He committed to Tech back on January 22 over offers from Indiana, Boise State and Cincinnati.
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Coming off a District 3-5A Division I MVP honor in 2021, he wants to continue to build a solid foundation for himself before entering a new chapter in Lubbock. Strong has received everything he's ever wanted, but refuses to let it get to him. Instead, he wants to do what he's always done — outwork everyone else.
"I would say I just want to continue to get better… and refine the small details," Strong said. "On top of that, I just want to enjoy this last season with my guys that I grew up with. I don't want to outlive the moments that are here right now.
"I just want to continue to be consistent and enjoy playing a game I love."
'(My dad) definitely pushed me to my limits, and that's not a bad thing'
Strong didn't have a typical childhood.
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On most days, he would leave school and train with either his dad or Roberts before heading home. Even there, most of his conversations wiith his dad were centered around football. A majority of Strong's time off from school was spent training or going to football camps, with him and his dad occasionally finding time to go fishing or hunt in the woods.
Dean got him his trainer, Roberts, when he was in first grade, but he was the main one who worked with him as a kid. He trained his son directly up until the seventh grade and gave his son the structured life he never had.
Dean's had a fractured relationship with his parents growing up. His father was rarely in the picture and his mother struggled with an alcohol addiction. Dean described his childhood as "unstructured" as he was almost alone in carving out a path for himself. When his son was born, Dean was motivated to give Strong the childhood he never had.
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But Dean struggled with balancing parenthood and football. He wanted his son to achieve his dreams of being a successful football player but also wanted to make time to bond with him, not wanting to push Strong over the limit.
"It was hard to balance that, you gotta walk that fine line," Dean said. "Sometimes when I was at home, I was his dad, and on the field I was somebody else, and I coached him hard.
"You wear so many hats from a parent, advisor and coach. All of these things that you're trying to juggle and still be dad, and it gets difficult."
Dean has two daughters as well, both older than Strong, but had a very different relationship with Strong than he did with his daughters. He was a "disciplinarian" and always checked to see what his son was eating, what he was practicing and what he was doing during his free time.
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Having not played quarterback, Dean had to learn almost just as much as Strong did while working with him. They would sometimes get in fights that Strong's mother, Stacy, would have "play referee in" and break up.
But, everything Dean did was to try and guide Strong into the right direction.
Dean never played college football, only playing semi-professional football in New Mexico. But, he wasn't trying to live out his college football dreams through his son. Instead, Dean saw a "generational talent" and pushed Strong to his limits in order to get the best out of him.
He and Strong had a common goal; to get the latter to the highest level. Because of that, Strong's childhood had to be different than most.
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That, above all, is what Dean wants others to understand the most.
"Most people don't realize the amount of work that goes into it," Dean said. "I'm trying to balance that father figure and I'm the same guy that's trying to train him and push him along and to help him build his goals and aspirations. It's can be difficult at times for sure. His life is very different than a normal kid.
"Obviously it's different than just a normal father son relationship. … But it's great."
Even though his father was extremely hard on him, Strong wouldn't have had it any other way. He believes without hiss father, he wouldn't have been held accountable enough for what he did.
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Not only does he describe Dean as his biggest influence, he believes his dad had been his biggest mentor as well.
"He's definitely pushed me to my limits, and that's not a bad thing," Strong said. "That's what pushed me to grow and continue to be successful. He's always been there to help guide me and help push me and help and help me keep the correct mindset towards things."
'He's always willing to study and he's always willing to learn'
Strong arrived at Northwest in 2019, having trained with several quarterback coaches beforehand after moving on from Roberts. These included Brad Frazier, Damian Williams, Patrick Mahomes' trainer, and Jeff Christensen, who played in the NFL from 1983-87.
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Strong began training with multiple coaches in order to "mix it up" and diversify his skillset.
"He doesn't want to get too robotic or stuck in one way," Dean said. "The fundamentals of playing quarterback are fairly simple, but they could look very different too. You get different things and different beliefs across the board there, but generally the fundamentals are all the same."
Strong started the season on Northwest's junior varsity team, spending the first seven weeks there before being pulled up to varsity for homecoming week. Upon hearing the news, Strong immediately texted his father, the man who influenced the most growing up.
Everything they put in together to help Strong become the best he can be was, at least at that moment, paying off.
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"I was extremely proud of him. I'm proud of him all the time," Dean said. "When you get to high school, Friday night lights are what it's all about. To be able to have that moment… as a dad, and everything he's worked for, and the tears and the hard work, it all finally came to fruition."
Strong played sparingly in his first season, but figured out ways to improve anyway. He focused on his mental game, something Strong feels he's always had an "edge" on.
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The speed of the game changed, and Strong had to catch up. To help with the transition, he started focusing more on "X's and O's," spening countless hours watching practice and game film at night.
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At the expense of his sleep schedule, he gained more knowledge, the exact reason Poe called Strong up to varsity so early.
"We knew that there was a good chance… that we would get really far ahead in some games and that we would have some opportunities to get him playing time," said Poe, who has known Strong since middle school. "We just wanted to show him what Friday night football was all about, and show him how faster the pace is compared to a Thursday night. It was good experience for him."
In the offseason, the 130-pound Strong wanted to add muscle. Strong's goal was to eat 5,000 calories a day, and started eating almost everything he could see. He also spent many hours in the weight room, focusing on the lower half of his body to grow his leg muscles.
Similar to his quarterback coaches, Strong wanted to work with multiple strength coaches. He worked with Northwest's strength and conditioning coordinator, Doug Castleberry, and his own strength coach, Charr Gahagen, a former strength coach at USC from 2001-10, to help him fulfill his physical goals.
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Strong ended up gaining 40 pounds to reach a weight of 170.
"We put a little more emphasis on the lower half because everything starts from the ground up," Strong said. "And then we let the upper body develop. But, I definitely had more of an emphasis on the on the lower half of my body."
Strong entered the 2020 season as the starting quarterback. After working to earn the trust of his teammates in the offseason, the Texans were fully behind their new quarterback. Now, the sophomore had to go prove himself.
He got his chance in the first game. Down 20-15 to Frisco Memorial, Strong led the Texans on a game-winning drive, throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Jak Poe with 21 seconds left on 4th and goal. Poe ran a post corner route to the back of the end zone, and Strong found him to give Northwest a 21-20 victory.
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For the rest of the season, he led an offense that averaged 458 yards per game and scored more than 50 points in five games. Strong won District 3-5A-I Newcomer of the Year, molding more into a leader with each week.
He again focused increasing his size in the offseason, adding 20 pounds to reach 190. Strong also attended several camps, including at SMU, TCU, Baylor and Louisville. There, he "refined" his game, specifically focusing on improving his mechanics and throwing motion.
Strong again led a high-powered Northwest offense, scoring more than 30 points in eight out of 11 games to win a share of the district title. He would win District 3-5A-I Overall MVP, and even took time to mentor Northwest's other quarterbacks along the way.
Strong didn't have to lead any game-winning drives that season, but did lead his team in "dogfights." While the Texans won all seven of their games by double-digits, their four losses to Frisco Memorial, Grapevine, Azle and Burleson Centennial in the first round of the playoffs were all by one score.
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Despite the early exit, Strong is happy with how last season turned out.
"Junior year was very fun for me," Strong said. "We were playing the same guys for the second time around, so it was definitely competitive. There was a lot of high energy. That was really awesome."
Poe is happy too, loving how his quarterback has grown from year to year.
"Week by week, you can just see the improvement," Poe said. "You could see that he was he was studying… the film and just doing whatever he could to make sure that he understood his role. The game just got slower and slower for him, so therefore it was it was easier.
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"The thing that's exceptional about Jake is that he has a very high football IQ. He's always willing to study and he's always willing to learn."
'The stars aligned. That was the perfect spot for me'
Strong only had two Division I offers at the start of 2022. In the span of a few days, that would change.
During the month of January, several schools came to Northwest to watch Strong go through drills including Cincinnati, Colorado State on the 18th and Indiana on the 19th.
All three would immediately offer Strong a full scholarship after watching him.
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One particular school, Texas Tech, came on the 20th. Offensive coordinator Zach Kittley and associate head coach Kenny Perry watched as Strong threw passes on short, intermediate and deep passes to showcase his talents.
Kittley gave Strong his first FBS offer when he held the same position at Western Kentucky. That day, he gave him another one and Strong committed two days later, making him head coach Joey McGuire's first quarterback commitment Tech.
"Going into the recruiting process, I sat down and I kind of thought about what I was looking for in a school," Strong said. "it was very easy to see what schools fit what I was looking for. From there, it gave me a template… and Tech fit that template."
Strong took an unofficial visit to Tech in June 2021, and fell in love with the campus and Lubbock. He also loved the "absolutely crazy" fanbase and the 'blue-collar" mentality within the program.
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He also was drawn to Kittley, who he's formed a relationship with since he offered Strong at WKU. The two speak often to each other, with Strong describing him as one of his biggest supporters and mentors. He also had an existing relationship with McGuire, who he met at the Baylor camp he attended while McGuire was an associate head coach there.
"I've gotten to build a great relationship with him for a very long time, longer than coach Kittley," Strong said. "Those guys definitely played into it a lot. Having those things that I was looking for in a program and in school, in a culture and in a community… the stars aligned. That was the perfect spot for me."
On June 17, he took his first official visit to Texas Tech, hosted by redshirt freshman quarterback Behren Morton. He also got to meet fellow quarterbacks Tyler Shough and Donovan Smith alongside the rest of McGuire's staff.
He also also got to meet former Red Raider and current Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who talked to Strong for over an hour.
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'Whenever we were training together, he said 'Just enjoy the time you have left in high school. Don't grow too quick.'" Strong said. "That was one of the things that stuck with me. Just enjoying the process and enjoying the journey versus being so hyper-focused on the end goal."
Before Strong heads to Lubbock, he's got to play one more year of high school. For his whole life, he's been devoted to his craft. It's no different this time around, as he hopes to further refine his throwing mechanics before entering college.
He also wants to fully enjoy his senior season with his lifelong friends. His goals may not be written on a piece of paper this time, but Strong still wants to leave Northwest with a championship.
"I just want to continue to be consistent and really just enjoy playing a game that I love with my other teammates," Strong said. "Then, making a deep playoff run. That's the ultimate goal. We got to take it one game at a time and not let the moment get too big… and be intentional about what we do. I think we'll be alright if we keep those things as priorities."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Justin Northwest football's Jake Strong commits to Texas Tech
