Jake Locker isn’t a tuck and run type is quarterback–well at least 2026 San Diego-area QB Jake Locker isn’t. Standing at 6-2 and 205, he’s built similarly to former Washington Husky 1st round draft pick whose name he shares.
Last season at Maranatha Christian the younger version led the Eagles to the second round of the California’s V-AA playoffs. That’s after the 3-star QB took over the signal-calling duties for the 5th game— setting several school passing records.
“He’s not a stick his foot in the ground and go type of quarterback,” noted RealDawg’s Trevor Mueller. “He’s a ‘get-to-the-next-possible-launch-point’ QB. That makes it so that he can load up for a play downfield.”
Locker could have a lot more than 75 rushing yards on the season on 15 attempts. That’s just not who he is—yet.
“I’m not a run-first quarterback,” he said. “I’m a passer first and a runner when my team needs me to type of QB.”
His speed is more than adequate, especially as a junior, clocking a 4.8 in the 40-yard dash. However, his patience might be his best quality as he first extends plays with his eyes, then his feet and lastly with his legs.
“I’m not afraid to hang in the pocket and let plays develop,” he said. “But when protection begins to breakdown I keep my eyes downfield and move to a spot away from the pass rush.”
Being elusive in and out of the pocket is one thing, however, tucking the ball and running he views as a last resort–unlike his Husky namesake.
While at Washington, OG Jake Locker was not a prototypical pocket passer where his threat to run kept teams honest.
The former Husky signal-caller was recognized as the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 2007 while twice receiving the Guy Flaherty Most Inspirational Award, in 2009 and 2010. Listed at 6-3, 210-pound the Ferndale, Washington-product once threw for 300 yards and rushed for 100 yards in a game against Arizona in 2007.
Down in San Diego, his dad Joel had already named his son–carrying over the first letter of his first name, calling him Jake.
“It was completely random. They named me Jake right before he hit the news of the four-star quarterback,” high school Jake Locker said.
His dad was in intriguing high school prospect at Slidell High School in the New Orleans area. He broke onto the high school scene in the back of a Pick-6 against archrival Salem. He began hearing from teams from the SEC and Big 12 including Auburn, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
He had great size and great speed before being saddled with injuries his senior season. While the afore mentioned schools backed off, 25 miles across Lake Ponchartrain, Tulane University, who had kept tabs on his high school career, swooped in at the last second.
Joel was a 4-year letterman at Tulane between 1993 and 1996. Despite wins being few and far between for the Green Wave, the St. Louis Rams’ Dick Vermeil thought highly of his 6-2, and 240 pounds and his 4.61 speed–and an unbelievable work ethic. After signing him to a 2-year contract
For his son Jake, switching schools last season has similarly hampered his recruitment as he only played in 8 games for Maranatha Christian School.
But what an 8-game sequence it was. He threw for nearly 2,000 yards and 27 scores. In his 3rd career start he had a 5-TD, 460 all-purpose yard performance against O’Farrell Charter School. He led the team to 5 wins in 8 games with two losses being by a combined 9 points.
“We lost to the champions Calipatria in the second round of the playoffs,” he recalled. “We lost 20-8 and I probably didn’t have my best game.”
Despite that showing he says that his dad’s wisdom of the recruiting process has helped him know when to keep his head up and when to keep his head down.
“Be proud of your work but keep working,” he said. “No matter who’s saying you’re good no matter you saying you’re bad no matter what attention you’re getting just continue to work harder than anybody else. I know I’m a bit behind in my recruitment but I will continue to work my hardest.”
Some of the work shows up on paper like continuing to improve on his 40 time which is now 4.8 and dropping. But his leadership doesn’t always show up on the stat line.
“I just fell in love with being a quarterback ever since I picked up a football,” he said. “That was when I was five or six and just playing with in the backyard with my dad. We would just throw it back-and-forth and I told him I like throwing it so it’s pretty pretty self-explanatory from there.”
What’s not self-explanatory is how advanced he is on his leadership skills.
“I adapt my approach to each player. Everyone responds differently to different types of motivation,” he informed. “I know that with some that I have to light a fire under them and others I have to put my arm around their shoulder.”
As a junior, moving after the season had already started, he was entrusted with the reigns of the program. Despite being thrown into the fire from the get-go he was able to quickly win over his new teammates. While his dad experience has helped him read the eyes of the defense he’s also learned to read the eyes of his teammates along the way.
“My dad says that defenders will look at look at the quarterback’s eyes just to confirm what was happening on the field,” he said. “If you look down the middle or you know the first step you take, you know you look the wrong way like the opposite way where you’re going it’s always you know a good habit to get into so I’ve been working on that. He says it’s hard. I’m just looking off where you’re going first step every single play.”
This off season he’s been working on not just strength and speed but his moves to keeping plays alive.
“An opportunity for growth for me is focusing on my speed,” he said. “Focus on the speed and trying to extend the plays a little bit more. I was a pretty pretty calm in the pocket, but I think adding speed to my game where I escape the pocket a little bit more would help a lot because I am a very accurate and good pass on the run so when I do get on the run. It’s just a matter of having having a space and you. The space to make those all platform on the run.
Just like knowing when to hang in the pocket a bit longer he has to choose the right approach to each teammate.
“I think I’m that leader that finds what my teammates respond to best because everyone is different,” he said. “Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. It’s just finding finding how each player responds the best. It just really depends on their background and what they’re used to.’
He’s always paying attention to everyone for different sort of reaction to his leadership style.
“Being more upfront and confrontational doesn’t work on everybody,” he informed. “Being more supportive and easy going with those who need that and being the motivator that others need. I try to learn from every person’s responses and try to give them the feedback to make them and our team better.”
The dividends of that approach paid off in a big game after a key receiver had a rough outing, dropping a pass in a big situation. Locker knew that he had to quickly save his teammate from the voices of doubt that would inevitably creep into their brain.
“I just reminded him that we were going to keep throwing the ball to him because he was valuable to our team,” Locker said. “I knew that he gets super down and when people he yell at him, he shuts down. I monitored him and wouldn’t let him get his head down. I told him ‘don’t let the one play define you’ and you know sure enough he made some huge plays on the way to the playoffs.”
It was a valuable lesson for the player and for the team.
“That’s key right there,” he said. “Not giving up on the kid not giving up on your team and not giving up yourself. Leadership is just finding that connection because everyone can have it and just need to find it and develop trust.”
Beyond the obvious connection of his name to the University of Washington, because of its Foster School of Business and the university’s standing as one of the top public institutions in the world, he would love an opportunity to play football for the Huskies.
“That would mean so much to me because Washington is a school I’ve been thinking about for a while,” he said. “Not just because of Jake Locker and his his legacy, just walking into those shoes and you know obviously trying to be my own person.”
Regardless of where he winds up, he understands the weight of his name.
“Just having that name is there’s a lot to carry and I wanna live up to it,” he said. “I love Washington as a college.”
