Why the NIC-10's best blocker stopped playing football in favor of track at Hononegah

The NIC-10’s best blocker was in the stands when defending league football champion Hononegah took on Harlem’s fearsome defensive line Friday night in a 38-28 shootout won by Hononegah.

Jacob Klink just didn’t line up next to them. Not anymore.

“It’s weird to hear all that talk about the O line-D line matchup and not be involved in that because Harlem has such a great defensive line. But I will be there to support my brothers," the Hononegah senior said before the game, where Hononegah struggled to run, gaining onlly 73 yards on 28 carries, but won with two defensive touchdowns and 212 yards passing. "Those guys were my teammates for three years. They are all my buddies, so I will support them.”

Klink was a three-year starter for Hononegah. A 6-foot-4, 385-pound former gymnast who could do the splits and steamroll rival tacklers. But the all-conference center/guard is even better at throwing the shot put and discus and decided to concentrate on track and field his senior year. So he decided to give up his final year of football on a team that reached the state quarterfinals for the first time in 25 years last year to concentrate on track.

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IHSA track wins out over NIC-10 football

In this age of specialization, it is common for players to give up their secondary sports. Klink had already trimmed his sports schedule in the past.

“I started doing track in seventh grade,” he said. “It originally started as something to do just to stay in shape in the offseason for basketball and football. It slowly grew on me. I started dropping other sports until it was down to track and football. Track wound up winning the battle.”

That is the surprise. When it comes to choosing one sport, if an athlete is good at basketball or football, those sports usually trump any others. This time track beat football for the best offensive lineman in the conference at the NIC-10’s best football school.

“That’s pretty much a first,” Hononegah cross country and track coach Mark McLarty said. “Usually it’s the other way around. It’s frustrating to see football players who would benefit a ton from track, but instead they are just lifting weights. I don’t see the benefit of just lifting in the offseason. They should get out of their comfort zone.

“But that’s the high school mindset. The glory of having that football jersey on. I get it, but I wish we were to the point where we play something we like more, instead of something that’s just more popular.”

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Klink likes both, but he thinks he is better in track. His personal bests are 55 feet, 6 inches in the shot put and 143-8 in the discus. Last year, a throw of 59-2 won the Class 3A state title in the shot put. It was 61-6 the year before.

“Last year was his first full track season, both indoor and outdoor,” McLarty said. “He came in at a weird time, with COVID, but his potential is limitless.”

“The plan,” Klink said, “is to break into the 60s and win state.”

Training to become a great shotput, discus star for Hononegah

Klink tied for 17th at state as a junior. He is throwing four days a week at Hononegah during the offseason and also heading to Madison, Wisconsin, once a week to work with a throws specialist. He has gotten recruiting calls from NCAA Division I schools Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota State and has an official recruiting visit at Illinois State in less than two weeks.

Klink has a long way to go, but he is relatively new to the shot put and discus and uses some of the same skills that made him such a good blocker in football. Sheer size isn't quite as important in the shot put, so he has dropped 30 pounds, but the muscle and balance that made him good in football also make him good in the throws.

“You always hear the saying in football: Slow feet don’t eat. It’s the same in the shot put,” Klink said. “You have to have agile feet. I am always trying to get faster with the feet. There is a big carryover.”

The attention, though, is quite a bit different. But that’s not a bad thing.

“It’s hard to replicate the Friday night lights,” Klink said. “What’s cool about track is the people who are there are actually interested. You get the same energy from a smaller group.

“I love the individual sports. It’s a weird atmosphere in the competitive ring, but I like that atmosphere. There is just a handful of guys. Each guy gets a turn. And it’s just you against measuring tape.”

Klink said he couldn’t get the throwing practice in that he wanted to and also play football at the same time. So he chose track.

Making a choice on what to do

He didn’t turn his back on football. He just made a choice. And track came first. That was hard for some people to understand, especially at a school that has won three of the last five NIC-10 football titles.

“It was tough telling people,” Klink said. “I didn’t think about it for a while. I hadn’t told anybody except my family. For a lot of people, it was kind of a blindside.

“Some people thought I was letting down the program. My decision had nothing to do with the Hononegah football program. There was a rumor about that, but I loved my time at Hononegah playing football. I had great teammates and I still love all of them. it was just time to make a decision.

“It was frustrating. And surprising, too. It’s still something that is ongoing. I will go to the grocery store and they will give me their 2 cents on my decision. It’s eye-opening to see that.

“But you can’t let what other people say get into your own head. You have to tune them out and not get affected by what others say.”

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: NIC-10 star offensive lineman gives up football in favor of track