Bowling Green State University Athletics
Versatile Jacobs becomes star at Bowling Green
September 21, 2005 | Football
Sept. 21, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The prototypical 21st century quarterback wears shoulder-length dreadlocks, weighs 224 pounds, throws the football sidearm and competes in a once-anonymous league that has turned into a pro pipeline.
Ten years ago, Omar Jacobs would have made a fine strong safety or tight end. A quarterback? Nah. Too big of a project. Irreparable mechanics. Not conventional enough.
"I'm glad times have changed," Jacobs said. "I'm going to get a shot."
Unwanted out of high school, Jacobs got his shot at Bowling Green and hasn't looked back. With a record-setting sophomore season and a stellar start to 2005, he's considered the nation's best college quarterback east of Los Angeles and the latest pro prospect to come out of the Mid-American Conference.
Astonishing accuracy and versatility distinguish Jacobs, who led the nation in touchdown passes last year (41) and finished second in passing yards (4,002). His 41-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio was the best in Division I-A history.
Jacobs threw for 458 yards and five touchdowns in Bowling Green's nationally televised season opener at Wisconsin. He followed that with a 428-yard, five-touchdown effort at Ball State.
The Falcons' junior is back on stage tonight (8 ET, ESPN2) in a mid-major showcase against Boise State.
"He just doesn't miss very often," Boise State coach Dan Hawkins said of Jacobs. "He never throws a ball that isn't catchable; he very seldom ever throws the ball to the wrong guy. When you have a guy who's that accurate, it's very, very difficult to stop."
The names Michael Vick, Daunte Culpepper and Donovan McNabb surface when Jacobs discusses his favorite pro QBs. Though he chooses to study rather than imitate, he appreciates those who have made it easier to be different.
"Michael Vick, before they probably would have turned him into a receiver or some kind of skill-position guy," Jacobs said. "Now you get a lot of guys with good speed and mobility. They don't just sit in the pocket any more."
As a result, Jacobs lists footwork as the component he most would like to improve in 2005. Though Jacobs is being used less as a runner this season, his cornucopia of talents is being put to use.
"He can throw the touch ball and when he has to air it out or throw a rope, he can do that, too," Bowing Green coach Gregg Brandon said. "He can make all the throws on the move, the screens. With the quarterback position, typically you look for guys who can throw the ball. But it seems like the more versatile guys who can run -- the Michael Vicks, the Culpeppers, the McNabbs -- I'll take those guys."
There was a time, though, when hardly anyone wanted to take Jacobs. Most college teams passed over the three-sport star from Atlantic Community High in Delray Beach, Fla. Jacobs didn't appear on Bowling Green's radar until a quarterback reneged on his verbal commitment, leaving coach Urban Meyer scrambling for help.
Meyer quickly offered Jacobs a scholarship.
"I didn't understand what happened in high school," said Jacobs, who only drew interest from Buffalo and Florida Atlantic, then a Division I-AA school. "I don't know what they were looking at. That was my big motivation when I first came out, to show everybody that I can play at the highest level."
Jacobs is "not a big attention guy," but he's become the biggest celebrity in Bowling Green, Ohio, a town of approximately 30,000 people. He doesn't party at Hollywood clubs like USC's Matt Leinart, but he also has fewer hiding places.
"Whenever I come outside my house, I get, 'Omar for Heisman! Oh my God, Omar!'" Jacobs said. "In L.A. they see stars all the time. They'll be like, 'How you doing?' and keep going."
Leinart might have college football's most recognizable face, but Jacobs can match it.
"People see dreads and they think, 'Omar,'" said Jacobs, who occasionally wears a beanie over his head as a disguise.
Is Jacobs starting a trend?
"A lot of guys will wear them, but I haven't seen quarterbacks with them," he said. "As time changes, certain things change."
Adam Rittenberg covers college football for the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald.
