The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Hockey background helping Cardinals lineman Jacoby
Junior, who now wrestles in the winter, gaining colleges’ attention
At 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, the recruiting star of Mentor’s junior offensive lineman Ryan Jacoby has taken off on a rapid ascent.
If not for some persistent recruiting by his buddies six years ago, Jacoby’s recruiting star might not have been rising over the football field, but over the local hockey rinks.
Through sixth grade, Jacoby was a standout defenseman in the Mentor Recreation league and Mentor travel hockey program. He was more apt to dream about being the next Ray Bourque or Bobby Orr than he was being the next Orlando Pace.
Now Jacoby is a highly sought after high school offensive lineman with dreams of playing big-time college football.
And, surprisingly, he has peer pressure to thank for it.
“I was at sixth grade orientation and the seventhgrade coach saw me and asked if I played football,” Jacoby said of Mentor’s Ryan Parisi. “I said no. But all year, they talked to me about it.”
The following year, Jacoby traded in his skates for a pair of football cleats — and a new career path was born.
“I started playing hockey when I was about 7,” Jacoby said. “My friends in elementary school played it, so I gave it a try because it looked fun on TV.”
The thought of a 6-5, 240-pounder flying down the ice with a stick in his hand is as scary as it is unfathomable. But Jacoby swears he was good at his trade.
“Oh, I am an excellent skater,” he said. “Every once in a while, I still do that in the offseason.”
Jacoby isn’t the first star Mentor football player to have a hockey background. Brady Demell, who is now a coach for the Mentor hockey program, was captain of both the football and hockey programs at Mentor before moving on to the United States Naval Academy to play football for the Midshipmen.
Jacoby said having played hockey before football helped with his footwork, balance and speed, a point Mentor football coach Steve Trivisonno backed up.
“I think being able to skate helps with moving your feet and changing directions,” Trivisonno said. “There are definitely some similar skills like that which are going to help you out.
“You don’t see a lot of guys that size play hockey. But Ryan is good on his Mentor offensive lineman Ryan Jacoby, center, with a few of his friends in the Mentor youth hockey league.
feet. Those kind of things help you to be a better football player.”
The Mentor hockey team’s defensive line could likely use Jacoby’s services. He characterizes himself as “a rough guy, the one to hit people a lot,” more than someone who scored a lot of goals.
Instead, he is part of a big Mentor offensive line that also includes Tyler Churney (6-3, 250), John Kidner (6-1, 260) and Tyler Schaunauer (6-0, 265)
“I think he is impressive,” Trivisonno said of Jacoby, his starting left tackle. “To watch him play, the energy
he has, the strength he has, are impressive. The sky is the limit on him.”
Apparently, others are getting on board with that notion, too.
As part of his summer months, Jacoby went to football camps at Penn State and Maryland. He has also drawn interest from Ohio State, Miami (Ohio), Pitt, Ohio University, Northwestern and Eastern Michigan.
Akron, Bowling Green, Iowa State and Toledo have offered scholarships.
The list is expected to grow has Jacoby’s junior season progresses.
“I went to the Penn State camp in early June,” he said. “I had a great experience. The coaches say to keep getting bigger. They like the way I move right now, and they want to see how I move when I put on some weight.”
Trivisonno said Jacoby could eventually get up to the 290-pound range. Add in his current footwork and speed, and that potentially makes for a stellar football recruit.
Jacoby said his wrestling background — he was Mentor’s 220-pound entry this past fall — also helps with his footwork and agility.
“(Programs) want to wait until after the season to see if they want to offer me or not,” Jacoby said. “They want to see how I do my junior season.”
No matter how good Mentor does this year and next in football — Jacoby wants to help the Cardinals get back to the state final four — and no matter how big of a college he chooses, he knows his hockey days are over.
Just don’t expect him to totally give up skating. He still doesn’t mind a recreational jaunt around the ice on a pair of skates in his free time.
But thanks to some peer pressure and a persistent coach in junior high, he is a big-time football recruit, not a promising hockey recruit.
“Yeah, I didn’t even start playing football until I was in seventh grade,” he said. “I was into hockey. But with my size, they wanted me to play football. So I played.”
The Mentor football program has been benefitting from that decision ever since.