They went to Jacob. That seemed to be the Tigers’ coaching strategy at pivotal moments throughout the 2007 season, NFL draft analyst Mike Detillier said. “When you look at those critical spots in time, they went to him,” Detillier said. “They didn’t go to many of the other backs.” Hester made his biggest impact on the team as a senior. The team captain amassed 1,103 yards rushing – the ninth-highest total in school history – and 12 touchdowns. He rushed for more than 100 yards in a game four times, including a career-high 126 yards against Arkansas. “As a runner, his best feature is his knack for finding a crease and getting in a short yardage, red-zone type of situation,” Detillier said. “We saw that numerous times last year … he would always make that big play.” Detillier said Hester’s versatile offensive style will appeal to teams across the NFL. The NFL draft begins Saturday with the first two rounds and concludes Sunday with rounds three through seven. “The more you can do in the NFL, the better chance you have to stick around,” Detillier said. “Each team thinks of him maybe a little differently – some may use him at running back, and some may use him at fullback, but his versatility gives you so many options with him.” Ironically, Hester’s first position was neither running back nor fullback at Evangel High School in Shreveport, said Hester’s head coach Dennis Dunn. “He actually started out as a nose guard for us and was the anchor of our defensive line that won a state championship [in 2002],” Dunn said. “He kept telling me he was a running back.” Hester was right on target. In the second game of his junior season at Evangel, he rushed for more than 250 yards. “And the rest is history,” Dunn said. Hester was the Class 5A Offensive Most Valuable Player in 2002 and earned the honor of Louisiana’s top fullback as a senior in 2003. Hester’s mother, Nancy, said her son showed great potential at any early age to succeed on the football field in college and the NFL. “Even from the time he started playing, he was head and shoulders above the other kids,” Nancy Hester said. “As he got older, and the other kids got better, he still always excelled.” While Hester may not be the greatest athlete in the draft class, Detillier said, teams will be looking for him to fill a No. 2 role. “They’re not going to ask him to be the lead guy,” Detillier said. “He could possibly be in a rotation with another back, which you see so much of today in the NFL. That could be part of the Hester factor, too. A team who’s got another back likes what he can do … and [the team] wouldn’t really have to change [its] style of play with him in the lineup.” Detillier said Hester would be a particularly good addition to teams that play in cold weather. “The guys that have good balance and have a little meat on their bones that can take those cold weather shots are [appealing],” Detillier said. “That’s why teams like Green Bay, New England, the Jets and Chicago are all teams I’ve heard are very, very interested in Jacob.” Dunn said Hester’s overall personality made him a great player to coach. “He was an extremely hard worker. He didn’t say much, and he just let his work on the field do his talking for him,” Dunn said. “He was a tremendous leader by example, and his teammates loved him. They knew he was a soldier and was going to do everything he could to help us win, and he pretty much carried the team on his back at Evangel.” Hester’s mother said her son’s journey through high school and college football – and now to the brink of being drafted – has been surreal. “It’s been a dream come true,” Nancy Hester said. “He had such a great high school career, and college was like the next step in that. We couldn’t ask for anymore.” Detillier predicts Jacob Hester will be a late third-round to early fourth-round selection in the draft. “He’s played in the toughest conference against the best athletes you could find – the closest thing to the NFL,” Detillier said. “And in crucial spots for the national championship team, who did [LSU] go to? They went to Jacob.”
—-Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]