Hurt Locker

Jake Locker’s idol is Brett Favre, so it only make sense that Jake does everything he can to play, even if he’s hurt. I wouldn’t say that Jake is prone to injury, he just plays hard. “Hurt Locker” has made many appearances throughout his UW football career.

Hurt Locker History

In 2007, Jake Locker suffered a nasty helmet to helmet collision that completely knocked him out (see video here). They loaded him up in an ambulance & sent him to the hospital. UW fans had flashbacks to Curtis Williams who went helmet-to-helmet in 2000, paralyzing him permanently. but he returned up by the end of the game in a neck brace. And alter in the week he showed up in a neck brace before the next game, playing a joke on the press who thought he would be unable to play. He was able to play, and despite one of the scariest moments a football player could face, Jake never played soft, he gladly took hits and continued to run over linebackers.

In 2008, Locker played through a groin and hamstring injuries, then broke his thumb blocking on a trick play. Post surgery with 14 pins and a plate in his hand, Jake Locker asked to play safety, but Willingham didn’t let him. In 2009 after Jake took plenty of shots thanks to a weak offensive line and played fairly beat up much of the season, but it was his healthiest season and probably his best. His ability to deliver a throw without any concern about a massive hit oncoming, made him a top prospect.

In 2010, as is common with Jake, he rarely admits that he is injured. He played with a deep thigh bruise that clearly hampered him, but the more serious injury that he wouldn’t admit to is that he had been playing with a broken rib. When the Oregon game came, they finally admitted it and held him out for the first time of the season. Jake proceeded to play the next two games at UCLA and Cal. He was clearly playing injured, but played well enough to win both games.

This weekend, Jake locker will again be playing with a broken rib against Washington State University in the Apple Cup. If all goes well, he helps the team win again and gets to rest up a few weeks before playing in the Holiday Bowl.

NFL scouts unaware of Jake’s playing-while-injured status will undervalue him, which means whomever picks him up in the draft will likely be pleasantly surprised. Jake has proven he can play through injury and is extremely resilient.