March 29, 2024

Jacobsen inspires as Cardinal player despite disability

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Playing football under the Friday night lights is the dream of all little boys.

Collin Jacobsen is living his dream as a starting defensive lineman for Newton High’s Cardinals. The senior is considered by his teammates and coaches as the “hardest worker” on the team.

That says a great deal about the character of the young man who wears No. 59 for the NHS varsity football team. Jacobsen had not logged much varsity playing time in his previous three years on the squad.

“He doesn’t back down from anything,” said Cardinal head coach Ed Ergenbright. “He doesn’t take the easy way out, and he could. That’s not Collin.”

Jacobsen has cerebral palsy. Jacobsen and his twin sister Michaela were born three months premature. He said he weighed 1 pound, 15 ounces and Michaela came in at 2 pounds, 2 ounces.

Jacobsen said it was discovered he had bleeding in his brain, which led to cerebral palsy.

“The bleeding was in the right side of my brain which controls the left side of my body. I went through a lot of physical therapy to develop my motor skills. I’m not coordinated at all with my left hand,” Jacobsen said.

“But, I’ve always tried to find a way to compete. I love being out there (in sports) with my friends.”

Jacobsen’s parents, Mike and Colleen, said they’ve always encouraged their children to do anything they wanted to do. Jacobsen played baseball and basketball, participated in gymnastics and played football as he grew up.

“I remember I was 3 or 4 when my dad would take me out in the back yard and we’d toss the baseball and football around. I played basketball and baseball in middle school, but football was my love,” Jacobsen said.

Cerebral palsy did not deter Jacobsen from playing his favorite sport. He said he worked hard in the weight room, but knew there were things he couldn’t do because of the limited mobility of his left side.

“Collin finds ways to improve himself in the weight room and on the practice field. He never just sits one out,” Ergenbright said.

Jacobsen’s desire and determination paid off this season — a season in which Newton is in a position to win a Class 3A district championship. The Cardinals are 5-2 overall and 3-1 in district play going into Week 8 with two more district games to play.

“I wanted to be able to play my senior year. Did I think I had a chance to play? I wanted to,” Jacobsen said. “I just wanted to play. I never thought I’d be starting.”

A week ago, Jacobsen said he was excited about being able to line up across from one of the best offensive linemen — Pella’s Garret Jansen — in Class 3A and the state of Iowa. Coaches, teammates and his parents tell the stories of a younger Jacobsen volunteering to go up against former Newton standout Derek Hurt in practices. Hurt is playing for Northwestern College in Orange City.

“We were surprised and so proud of Collin when we saw he was starting,” said Colleen Jacobsen, Collin’s mother. “As a mother, you are always concerned that your children will get hurt competing. But with my background, I really wasn’t that concerned about Collin out there even though he is smaller than most of the players he lines up against.”

Colleen’s father is Duane Twait, who coached Emmetsburg to seven Class 2A state football titles and seven state runner-up spots. Kevin Twait, Colleen’s brother, is the head football coach at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge.

“Football is huge in my family,” Jacobsen said. “I love talking football with anybody who will talk about it with me. Football is something I look forward to when I get up in the morning. It is something that keeps me going. It is a reason why I work so hard in the weight room.”

Mike Jacobsen said his son was a good baseball player growing up.

“I taught Collin how to catch and throw with his right hand. It was an idea I got watching Jim Abbott, who was a professional baseball pitcher who did it with his left hand. Abbott was born without a right hand but could throw and catch with his left hand,” Mike said. “Collin became very proficient at throwing the baseball and transferring his glove to his right hand so he could catch the ball.”

Jacobsen pitched for his Newton Little League and Babe Ruth teams. Football called him to the field when he was in fifth grade.

“Collin was one of the more aggressive players on our youth football team,” said Mike, who helped coach the team. “Collin has always had a great attitude and he never has been down on himself. I was concerned playing sports might be a letdown for him, but not with him.”

“We encouraged him to take band, but his real love was football,” Colleen said. “He and Michaela work very hard at the sports they love. They are really close. Collin was a good baseball player. Michaela not so much as a softball player. Collin loves football and Michaela loves basketball.”

So, football it is for Jacobsen. He put in his time on the Cardinal scout teams throughout the three years prior to his senior season. His parents talked to him and prepared him for the fact that he might not play much as a senior “but we never discouraged him from being out there. It is what he wanted to do,” Colleen said.

Fellow senior Mason Bowes and Nick Easley reflected how his NHS teammates look at Jacobsen.

“Collin always knows what he is doing on the field. He studies a lot and prepares for the games really well,” said Bowes, who plays on the defensive line with Jacobsen. “He’s always making other people better. Collin holds himself accountable. If he does make a mistake he’s the first one to admit it and he is the first one to fix it. He is inspirational to us out here.”

“I’ve know Collin a long time and played football with him as we grew up. It’s pretty amazing what he does,” Easley said. “He works harder than any of us out here and has half the able body parts then we do and still gets the job done. He is so strong and works so hard.”

Newton defensive coach Andy Cazett said Jacobsen gives 100 percent effort 100 percent of the time. Cazett and Ergenbright said Jacobsen earned his starting spot this season.

“He played so well in practice and did everything we wanted him to do that there was no way we couldn’t give him a starting spot,” Cazett said. “Collin does things right. That is what he is all about. He gets us lined up correctly on the defensive line.

“Collin is not going to make the great plays. He is going to do what he needs to do to be successful and to help his team,” Cazett added.

Ergenbright said Jacobsen has a great football mind. He said Jacobsen is looking for the next thing he can do to help his team.

“Collin is a remarkable young man and a totally unselfish kid. He doesn’t use his disability as an excuse. It motivates him to overcome the limitations it has put on him,” Ergenbright said. “There are no short cuts for Collin.”

Jacobsen is the first one to admit that he isn’t the greatest football player on the field.

“I can’t tackle to save my life. I think I have two solo tackles this year and that’s from the kid tripping over me,” Jacobsen said with a smile on his face. “My technique is a little bit different than everybody else’s. My role is to get as deep (in the backfield) as I can, cause havoc, fall down and disrupt things along the line of scrimmage so linebackers can make the plays.

“It’s about trusting my teammates, and them trusting that I’m going to do what I’m suppose to do. I trust that they are going to make tackles. The coaches know I struggle with pass rush at times, but they are alright with that. My teammates do a lot for me behind the scenes like help me put my shoulder pads on.”

Ergenbright said Jacobsen does his job so well in practices that it is a bit frustrating for the Cardinal offense.

“What an asset he is for our team. Not just because he works hard on the field, but by his example off the field and his leadership,” Ergenbright said.

Officially, through seven games, Jacobsen has four solo tackles, two assisted tackles and a quarterback hurry.

“Playing football my senior season with my friends means absolutely everything to me,” Jacobsen said. “I’ve worked hard to get to where I am, so I really work hard to do my job and play to the whistle. For the younger players, I hope the message I’m sending is to work hard to obtain your goals.”

Jacobsen said he is working with a group of coaches in California developing a new wrinkle to the game of football. The football package is going to be released to coaches this winter, he said.

Following high school, Jacobsen said he is looking at colleges such as Drake University and Truman State University on his way to law school. He’d like to coach football at some level.

“My family has been so supportive. My parents never said I couldn’t do something. Michaela and I are close and I look to her and how hard she works. She puts so many hours into basketball,” Jacobsen said. “Courtney, our younger sister, is doing well in volleyball this season.”

Jacobsen has two more regular season games in his senior season, plus the Cardinals will be in the 3A playoffs. No matter how long the run is for the 2014 Cardinal football team, it is a senior season No. 59 will remember.

“I just love being out there with my friends playing the game I love.”

Contact Sports Editor Jocelyn Sheets at (641) 792-3121 Ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com.