Solon Alum Jacob Getting His Kicks At Princeton

Patrick Jacob has the perfect mentality of a kicker.  It is a big reason why the Solon native has found success at Princeton University.

Jacob is finishing up his senior season with the Tigers and has emerged as one of the top kickers in the Ivy League.  He has yet to miss two kicks in a row this season because his approach to each kick is the same no matter what happened in his previous attempt.

"You have to have a short-term memory being a kicker," said Jacob. "I go out there and if I miss, I just have to correct it. I have to go out there and make sure I don’t miss again, and I’ve been pretty good at that."

Jacob has had few opportunities to worry about recovering from a missed kick.  The Princeton placekicker has converted on nine of his eleven attempts this season. He is coming off a junior year in which he booted 14 of 18 field goals.  With the Tigers' offense struggling in the red zone, Jacob has been busy through the first five weeks of the season.

"I’d much rather be kicking extra points than field goals," Jacob said. "But the past year and a half, the coach has been calling on me a fair amount. When they need me to go out and kick field goals, I’m more than happy to do whatever the team needs me to do."

Princeton has struggled in the first half of the season and is 1-4 heading into this weekend’s contest against arch-rival Harvard. However, the Tigers have hung tough against several difficult opponents and Jacob is hoping to get the chance to do what every kicker wants to do. He wants to be on the field when the game is on the line.

"It’s every kicker’s dream," said Jacob. "You think about it going into a game. I hope we’re so far ahead that we wouldn’t even need to do it at the end of a game, but it’s part of being a kicker. You think about it and you hope for it."

It all began for Jacob in Solon, but the local product originally had his sites set on another sport before turning to football.

"I played soccer growing up," Jacob said. "During my freshman year, my buddies on the football team came up to me and said they needed a kicker. I came to a few practices in the preseason and I really enjoyed being around the guys."

After getting a taste of football during his freshman year, Jacob settled in as Solon High School’s top placekicker. He converted 27 of 35 field goals over three seasons and soon realized his opportunity for college was connected to the gridiron. 

"Playing high school football at Solon is Division I football in Ohio since it’s such a big football town,” said Jacob. "There is a lot of press and a lot of fans. I got a lot of exposure to that my sophomore year. That was going to be the rout I wanted to take in college."

Jacob received offers from several schools, including Harvard and Yale. Princeton wasn’t even on Jacob’s recruiting radar until the last moment, and a trip to the Princeton campus convinced Jacob to head to New Jersey.

"I didn’t really get recruited by Princeton hard until late," Jacob said. "I went out for a visit and fell in love with the campus. The guys were awesome. I really like everybody and I liked the culture here."

Jacob also recognized the importance of a Princeton education. As his senior season winds down, Jacob is still hoping he’ll get the chance to kick in the NFL.  However, Jacob is well-prepared for life after football.

"You’re only young once," said Jacob. "If I have an opportunity to kick at the next level, I’m going to pursue it. This summer I worked in New York a Wall Street.  Career-wise, I’ll probably want to work in finance, but we’ll see what happens in football."