CENTURY LEAGUE : Small Stature Doesn’t Keep Jacobs Out of the Big Plays

Receivers don’t normally lead the county in interceptions in their first year of playing defense. And 5-foot-10 receivers don’t normally catch balls intended for players half a foot taller than them.

But Canyon quarterback Adam Hoover has been watching Greg Jacobs do the unexpected since their Pop Warner days. And Hoover has come to understand that nothing Jacobs does on the football field is normal.

“He has something you can’t coach--something that makes up for his size,” Hoover said. “His vertical (jump) is only about 32 inches or so and he’s only 5-10, but put Greg in a game and he becomes a different player. He’ll out-jump people much taller than him and he’ll outrun people faster than him. I envy him. I can step it up a notch for the game, but he is incredible.”

Incredible, and virtually unstoppable. In six games this season, he has caught a county-leading 48 passes for 520 yards and four touchdowns, and he has intercepted six passes. He is tied with Esperanza’s Anton Hector and Valencia’s Rhett Shepard for the interception lead.

“I’ve already beaten last year’s (personal) record of 38 catches,” said Jacobs, a senior. “It’s shocking, but I just hope I can keep it going. I’m praying a lot that I can get a good scholarship.”

If Jacobs’ mailbox is any indication, it appears his prayers might be answered soon. He has received letters from many Division I colleges, including California, USC, UCLA, Colorado, Fresno State and San Diego State.

Hoover said he doesn’t have any doubt that Jacobs will be a starting receiver for a Division I program.

“He was by far the best receiver in our league as a sophomore, and he just kept getting better,” Hoover said. “He’ll have to step it up in college because he’ll be playing against bigger and faster people, but he’s always stepped it up.”

In high school, Jacobs has had a hard time taking any steps without a crowd around him. Since he broke into the starting lineup as sophomore, Jacobs has seen double and occasionally triple coverage, but Canyon receivers coach Kevin Emerson said traffic has never bothered Jacobs.

“He’ll know where he has to go across the field and he can feel pressure around him,” Emerson said. “He gets so absorbed with the ball, he blocks everything else out.”

And sometimes that includes blocking out other players.

“Against El Modena last year, Greg jumped for the ball in the end zone and didn’t originally have it,” Emerson said. “But by the time he came down to the ground, he had taken it away from the defender who had it.”

Jacobs’ end zone theft was a personal favorite of Hoover’s too, but Jacobs said his catch against El Dorado in this season’s opener would lead his highlight film.

“Adam threw me a 12-yard out and I just dove and totally extended my body like a wooden board, then I pulled it toward me with one hand,” Jacobs said.

Hours of practice have made one-handed catches almost routine for Jacobs.

“Adam and I do one-handed contests before each season,” Jacobs said. “We try to outdo each other.”

Said Hoover: “He doesn’t know it, but I’m kind of testing him in those sessions. I throw it high and outside and see just how far he can extend himself.”

Typically, Hoover said, Jacobs winds up making his errant passes look pretty good.

“I’m not perfect and he makes up for a lot of my imperfections,” Hoover said. “I’ll take chances on passes to Greg that I wouldn’t with any other receiver. I know if he can’t get it, no one else will.”

Jacobs’ knack of coming up with the spectacular catch has made him a quarterback’s nightmare as a cornerback. Against Corona del Mar, Jacobs intercepted three passes and caught four more as a receiver.

“I know what it’s like to be a receiver, so I can think with the receiver,” Jacobs said. “In high school, most quarterbacks latch onto one receiver. When I see that look in his eyes, that’s when I make my break.”

Either way, Jacobs figures to have a hand, or maybe two, in the outcome of tonight’s Century League showdown against visiting Foothill.

“It’s going to be an air show,” Jacobs said. “If the offense isn’t looking too hot (tonight), I’ll give it all I have on defense and try to make a play.”

FOOTHILL VS. CANYON

Featured Game

When: 7 tonight.

Where: Tustin High.

Records: Canyon (5-1, 1-0); Foothill (2-4, 1-0).

Rankings: Neither team is ranked.

Noteworthy: Canyon quarterback Adam Hoover is completing 59% of his passes, and more than half of his 95 completions and 1,031 yards have gone to receiver Greg Jacobs.