- September 13th, 2006, 9:00 am
#29867
Here is the much-hyped story on Jason from Chris in the fishwrap:
Long sounds LU's defensive chargehttp://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Sate ... th=!sports
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 13, 2006
To understand Jason Horn's obsession with the weight room, go back to the beginning when the Liberty University defensive co-captain was a defensive end at North Canyon High School in Phoenix.
Arizona State showed a little interest in Horn but didn't make an offer. Northern Arizona, the lone Division I-AA school in the state, didn't give Horn much thought, nor did any other of the region's I-AA schools.
So Horn enrolled at Glendale Community College, hoping two years of junior college football would improve his chances of earning a Division I football scholarship. This wasn't a stab in the dark. The Arizona Republic rated him as one of the top 10 players in the state.
Horn didn't consider the scholarship a birthright. He was willing to sell his soul to the weight room, to put in the mind-numbing work that might give him even the tiniest edge over other recruits.
But after two years at Glendale, crickets continued to chirp, so to speak. No one beat down Horn's door. He was about ready to give up, but in the last week of the recruiting period in spring 2005, former Liberty coach Ken Karcher made Horn an offer.
"They said they wanted to get me out here on a (recruiting) trip," Horn said. "I was like, 'all right then.'"
That stigma, the feeling of I'm not good enough? Hah! I'll show them! stuck with Horn, even last year when he helped revive a hapless Flames' pass rush, finishing with a team-high four sacks (a number Horn has
matched in LU's first two games in 2006).
That work ethic? It came east with him. The Flames' leading sack man is also the one most likely to pound out an extra set of bench presses when others are hitting the shower.
When a captain puts in that sort of work, others follow.
Horn can bench 420 pounds, a fair number for a defensive lineman.
That power translates into strength up front, allowing him to hold huge offensive linemen at bay and allowing Liberty linebackers to bust through creases to stop running backs or pressure the passer.
But, as Flames strength and conditioning coach Bill Gillespie notes, "I benched 800 pounds when I was with the Seahawks, and they never once asked me to play football."
So power isn't everything.
Want to see Gillespie light up? Ask him about Horn's power clean numbers. The 6-foot-1, 255-pounder has put 417 pounds up in this Olympic style lift.
In Gillespie's time in college and pro weight rooms, which included stints at the University of Washington and with the Seattle Seahawks, he's only seen one football player do more - former Washington All-American Chad Ward, a 6-5, 335-pound offensive guard.
"You have to be courageous, you have to be strong, you have to be fast and you have to have great body awareness to be good at the power clean," Gillespie said. "Jason is so good at working through his center of gravity.
"A lot of guys on the football field, if they're not moving in their center of gravity, even if they're fast, they're slow on the football field because they have to regain their balance. That's where Jason has an advantage over a lot of the athletes. He trains through his center of gravity very well."
The power clean translates well to the football field because it combines pure strength and athleticism. It's not enough to just push people around at the line of scrimmage. A rush end must have a speed burst to get around a lineman, or the shiftiness to gain a step and a valuable physical advantage.
"The kid's got real good vision," said Liberty defensive coordinator Tom Clark, who held the same position at William & Mary from 2001-03. "His reaction time is excellent. He overcomes any disadvantage he has with his eyes. Even though he's not that tall, he's able to bat passes because he's got such quick hands."
Horn leads Liberty with 16 tackles and 5 1/2 tackles for loss this season. He's a disruptive force for Liberty on the line, "relentless," fellow defensive end Steve Ackley said.
Horn might have been under appreciated by college recruiters four years ago in Phoenix, but that's no longer the case. Even when he's done playing at LU, Gillespie might not be able to get Horn out of the weight room.
A kiniesiology major, Horn is interested as a career as a strength and conditioning coach. Gillespie said Horn has the potential to compete in Olympic style weightlifting when he's done playing football.
Horn has spent enough time around Gillespie to admire the coach's teaching style, one that he'd like to emulate in his own weight room someday.
"He gets happy when he sees someone (achieve) a new max or gain endurance or run better," Horn said. "He wants you to achieve your best. He's always there for you."
- By Dalegarz1