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Hernando Today

NCT Lineman Becomes Another Cheesehead

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By MARTY MILLER

Hernando Today correspondent

Published: May 24, 2008

When deciding on what college to attend, a lot of students depend on what their friends tell them.

That was the case with Nature Coast Technical lineman Jake Myers, who last week signed a football scholarship to play for Lakeland College in Sheboygan, Wis.

The friend who did the most of convincing for Myers was former NCT player and Lakewood punter Billy Hughes.

"Billy's the first quarterback I ever blocked for," said the Shark senior. "One night he called me up and said, "Jake, Lakeland would be a good place to go. You'll like the people and you'll like the coaching staff."

It turns out that after paying a visit to the school, Myers agreed with his friend.

"I went up there for a visit in April and it was beautiful," he said. "The snow had just stopped, it wasn't cold or hot. It's a small college with a small campus and that's what I liked about it."

The coaches at Lakeland, which is a Division III that went 6-4 last year, told Myers he needed to improve on some things before he reports to school in August.

"They told me I have to get my bench press up and my 40-yard dash time down. They want me running a 5.0 in the 40 and benching 385 when I get up there," the Shark center said.

Myers also said the coaches at Lakewood told him his chances of playing this fall as a freshman are good.

"The center and two guards last year graduated and the center they had coming back is now ineligible," said Myers. "So they said the position is mine to win or lose."

Myers intends to major in education and history while taking a minor in coaching.

"Hopefully after football I'll stay and get my master's and then become a principal and a football coach," said the two-year Shark starter.

The 6-foot, 260-pound senior had offers from other schools, but said he was convinced the Wisconsin school was the best place for him.

"Billy said it's a good place to make the transition from high school to college. I've got good friends there like Billy and Jon Woodbury (another former NCT player), they have good teachers, small classroom sizes and it's a great place to be."

Another drawing point for Myers is the similarity between the coaching staff at Lakeland and Nature Coast.

"The coaching staff is almost an exact replica of Nature Coast," described Myers. "I'm not going to lie, it's a scarry time. I've always had the security of my family and coaches if I got into trouble. Now, I'm a 22-hour drive away."

"It's going to be weird having new coaches and not having (Coach Mike) Lastra pushing me day after day," admitted Myers. "But the guys that I met up there who are going to replace those people, I think they're up to the challenge."

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