Articles by Category
Photo: Vicky Graff
As far as Kentucky sophomore Jacob Hyde is concerned, he’s leading the good life.
“All summer I was working out and taking classes. We are in college at Kentucky. I am 21 years old. It don’t get any better than this. Playing college football for your dream school, come. I’m just living live and loving it,” said Hyde, a former all-state defensive lineman at Clay County.
Hyde was UK’s first verbal commitment in the 2013 signing class, coach Mark Stoops’ first year at UK.
“I think I probably enjoy being here more than anybody,” Hyde said. “Through the ups and downs, I always love it. I looked forward to this as a child. As a teenager too and now here I am doing this. It does not get any better than this.”
Well, maybe it will.
During spring practice Hyde was also used at fullback. At 320 pounds, Hyde could be a short yardage or blocking force for the UK offense.
“Lord be willing, they should keep using me at fullback. I got a number change (to 36). I have never worn 30 anything. Never run the football. This is a new chapter to me,” he laughed and said.
Hyde, who lose 10 pounds during the summer, has the attention of UK offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson.
“He’s great at what he does, is a great kid, understands his role,” offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said. “So there’s going to be situations where it’s a half a yard and we need to get one. So we’ll put his big ass in there and knock somebody down.
“Are you going to see him on first and 10? Probably not. If you do, I’m just trying to get a laugh out of you. Are we going to throw it to him a lot? Probably not.”
Hyde’s move to offense created more attention than anything else since he’s been at UK.
“I wouldn’t say center of attention. I am the same man, just a different position. Actually, I take that back. Just a position added on. When you look at the roster it will say defensive tackle/fullback. That’s kind of cool. It is different. I like being back there. I didn’t run the ball at Clay County. We talked about it but we never went through with it.
“When I first heard about it here in the spring, I was like, ‘Quit bull crapping.’ As time went on more coaches brought it up and kept asking me about it and then finally one day a few things had happened here and there and they said you are a fullback now. Every day in the spring I would go both ways in practice. Sometimes I would just get three or four reps at fullback and then go straight to nose guard. It’s kind of back to what I did in high school.”
Stoops says he likes the idea of having “a little bit of size in there and a guy that can get us a little movement” at fullback when needed.
“We don't play with a fullback a whole heckuva lot, so when we need to get in our big sets, we'll use him some,” Stoops said.
Running backs coach Chad Scott doubts that many defensive players will want to take on Hyde one-on-one when he charges into the line to block.
“I would not say it is that simple, but that is pretty much the concept. If it is worth waking up and rolling out of bed for, then it is worth giving 100 percent. I try to attack every day with that attitude no matter how bad or how good I feel. That is how I try to look at things,” Hyde said.
That’s why at spring break when many teammates went on vacation, he went home to work two jobs.
“My mom taught me how to work. She was a single parent raising two kids. At the end of the day you may think you have it bad, but if you just sit back and look, people got it a whole lot worse,” Hyde said. “She is very proud of me. Not many people know but my father passed away when I was 4 years old. He was a huge Kentucky fan. Actually, my whole family was even before I got recruited. I am just living out a dream. Not many kids from eastern Kentucky can say they are living this dream like I am.
“I just wake up and thank God for giving me this opportunity and putting me in this position. Help me making it through. It is pretty rough on a person’s body but I love it.”
Hyde was redshirted in 2013 and played sparingly in 2014. However, he never lost his belief in what he was doing.
“What kept me up was two or three things. The main one, and nobody really talks about it, is religion. I always turn to the Bible. I am always in my Bible every day. People turn to it, especially when times get tough, but I am always in there even before,” Hyde said. “It says in the Bible that God does things and no matter how bad, it all works out in the end for good.
“I look at that and he puts you through trials and errors to see how you will hold up. My mother always told me growing up that God would never put more on you than you can bear. He will push you to that breaking point, but not let you break.
“Then another thing is my family back at home is my rock. No matter how things were going, they just said keep your head up and keep working. You have done it your whole life, so why stop now.”
And what if he did score a touchdown this season, something he’s never done in a high school game?
“It would be phenomenal to score a touchdown in Commonwealth Stadium. I grew up a Kentucky fan and watched many games in that stadium as a fan. Just to go across the goal line with the ball in my hand and have those fireworks go off, just to help the team and say I produced, it would be great,” Hyde said.
He got emotional just thinking about scoring and how proud his family, and father, would be.
“Yes it is emotional. Not many people where I am from can say they are living out a dream like I am,” Hyde said. “That’s why I thank God every day for letting me do this.”
KSR Twitter Feed
vBulletin Message