Air Force Academy – A couple more games like he had Saturday against San Diego State and Air Force fullback Jacobe Kendrick no longer will be overlooked.
The junior rushed for 128 yards, scored four touchdowns and caught two passes for 39 yards in Air Force’s 41-29 victory at Falcon Stadium, and Monday he was named the Mountain West Conference co-offensive player of the week.
“That’s probably it,” Kendrick said when asked what was the biggest honor he has ever received. “Maybe that and being the offensive player of the year when I was at the (AFA) Prep School. I was all-district in high school, but I definitely think that I’ve been overlooked before I got here.”
There were a couple of reasons a 6-foot, 230-pound fullback might be overlooked coming out of Midland Lee High School in Texas. One was Cedric Benson, who was a year ahead of Kendrick and one of the most celebrated prep backs in state history. He starred for the Texas Longhorns and was a first-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears this year. The other reason was a season-ending knee injury Kendrick suffered early in his senior year.
The recruiters, including those from Oklahoma State, Texas Christian and Southern Methodist, stopped calling, leaving Air Force as the only school interested.
“Playing in the shadow of Cedric Benson, you don’t get looked at as much,” Kendrick said. “We ran the I-formation in high school and I played fullback and he played tailback my junior year. I played tailback my senior year, but when I injured my knee in the first game, basically everybody just dropped me but Air Force.”
Kendrick attended the Prep School, then saw spot duty as an AFA freshman, alternating at halfback and fullback. A year ago, he played in every game for the Falcons but got just 43 carries, gaining 232 yards and scoring one touchdown.
Now that he is being recognized, his focus is maintaining the reputation of the fullback in the AFA triple-option offense. That pretty much means he leads the charge on every play and needs to carry the ball as much as the defense allows, depending on the quarterback’s read.
“I know all of the names of the previous fullbacks here,” Kendrick said. “John Kershner, Pat Evans, Spanky Gilliam, I know all of them. Coach told me that he once ran Pat Evans nine straight times against Notre Dame. Those are the things I dream about. It makes you play harder for the guys who played before you. You try to keep up the tradition.”
Coach Fisher DeBerry believes he will.
“If he can stay healthy,” DeBerry said, “Jacobe could be one of the best fullbacks we’ve had.”
AFA offensive coordinator Chuck Petersen noted that Kendrick earned his spurs with outstanding blocking in the season-opening win over Washington.
“What makes him good as a runner is his vision,” Petersen said. “He really does a good job of seeing where to run.”
The Falcons (2-0) host Wyoming (1-1) at noon Saturday in a key MWC game. Wyoming will be out to neutralize Kendrick.
“Every team we play tries to take the fullback out of our offense,” Kendrick said. “That makes it interesting. But this year it’s going to be hard to concentrate on the fullback because of our passing game.”
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
