Lake Zurich's Brinlee finishes big

Offensive linemen don't ask for much.

If a running back, or a quarterback, or any skill player gives them a pat on the back or a “Thank you” every once in a while, they're generally happy.

So, no wonder the offensive linemen at Lake Zurich were downright ecstatic this season.

Senior running back Jacob Brinlee went above and beyond a few pats on the back.

He showered his linemen with so much praise, gratitude and public acknowledgement all season long that you would think they not only blocked for him but that they also carried him all over the field on throne made of gold.

“Jacob is just such a nice, humble kid and is always giving credit to everyone but himself. He was always the first guy to give credit to the offensive line,” Lake Zurich senior center Steve Garcia said. “It just made us want to block for him even harder. We wanted to try our best for Jacob and give a maximum effort on every play so that we could help our team be a success and help him be a success.”

Let's just say Lake Zurich's offensive linemen hit both of their goals like they did defensive linemen. With gusto.

As a team, the Bears put together a magical 13-1 season that ended with a trip to the Class 7A state championship game last weekend at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. Along the way, Brinlee wound up becoming the most prolific running back in school history with nearly 3,500 career rushing yards, including 1,703 this season.

He also set an IHSA Class 7A single-game rushing record of 226 yards in the state title game against WW South.

Of course, the speedy, shifty Brinlee would credit about 10 other people before he mentioned himself, if he even mentioned himself at all. But, the fact is, he had plenty to do with a season so special that it merited the Daily Herald's highest individual distinction.

Brinlee has been named the honorary captain of the Daily Herald's 2010 Lake County all-area football team.

“I guess I'll probably look back on all this one day and be very proud of what I've accomplished,” Brinlee said. “But I'll also know that it wasn't just me. I realized a long time ago that a lot of other things go into football. I've always had a really great line blocking for me. And the coaches have always put together really good schemes. They've always done a really good job of scouting the other teams and getting us prepared for different defenses.

“I definitely have a lot to be thankful for.”

Typical Jacob Brinlee. Always deflecting. Always downplaying his own part.

Reporters at the state championship game had their work cut out for them with Brinlee. When they wanted to talk about him and his record, all he wanted to talk about was how much he appreciated his teammates.

“I don't know how you replace a guy like Jacob,” Lake Zurich coach Bryan Stortz said. “And not just because of what he can do on the football field, which is a lot. I'm talking about what kind of person he is, and the example he set for the rest of our players.

“He's just a quality person, genuinely humble. I think it starts at home. His parents are just like that. Every once in a while, you meet a kid who is mature beyond his years, and that's Jacob.”

Brinlee was forced to grow up quickly on the field.

He was made a varsity starter as a sophomore, playing mostly defense as a cornerback.

Actually, his first taste of varsity came even before that. Freshman year, Brinlee was moved up to the sophomore team. During the playoffs, the sophomore team practiced each day with the varsity.

That year, Lake Zurich won the Class 7A state title. Brinlee went down to Champaign as a fan, but since he practiced with the varsity throughout the playoffs, the coaches allowed him and the other players from the sophomore team to visit their Memorial Stadium locker room and hang out behind the scenes.

“It was kind of cool to see things come full circle,” Brinlee said. “You go from watching the state title game and just hoping that someday we would get their ourselves, to actually being there and playing in the game.

“We would have liked to have won the game (Wheaton Warrenville South won 28-17). That was the goal. But it was also a dream to just get there. You dream about doing that when you're a little kid.”

Brinlee would know. He's been playing football since early grade school. Even back then, Garcia saw all kinds of promise in Brinlee.

“We've been playing together since second or third grade,” said Garcia, who also happens to be Brinlee's next-door neighbor. “You could tell he had potential because he was fast and shifty back then, too. But I think he's really stepped it up in high school. He's worked his butt off to get to where he is.

“He's got so many good moves that he can put on people, but he can also stick people because he's gotten so strong. He may be a smaller kid (Brinlee is 5-foot-10, 170 pounds), but he can stick people like he's 205 pounds.”

If only he really were.

Brinlee is getting plenty of looks from all kinds of colleges. But his dream is to play in the big time, and his lack of size might be a deal-breaker for many major Division I recruiters.

For example, he says that one of the top schools on his wish list, Northwestern, has expressed interest in him, but likely as a walk-on so that he can prove himself in spite of his size.

Only then would scholarship money be up for discussion.

“I'm going to look into any school, including smaller schools, if I can get some money taken off (of tuition),” Brinlee said. “But I still think it'd be really great to play at a bigger school. Even if I had to walk on.

“I actually think that might be kind of good for me. It would give me something to work for. I'd have something to push me and I don't mind that. I don't mind working hard.”

A humble, hard worker with natural talent and skill? Not a bad combination. Stortz is convinced no college program could go wrong with a player like Brinlee, size or not.

“If some school could just come in here and look past Jacob's size, they'd see how truly special he is,” Stortz said. “Sure, it'd be great to have a running back like Jacob in a 6-foot-1, 215-pound body. But I'm not sure all those kinds of guys have the same character traits as Jacob.

“You just can't teach those.”