Moves work out well for Darby's Ebert
Jeremy Ebert
Change of address, position benefit quarterback
By Steve Blackledge
The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday October 17, 2007 10:28 AM
Jeremy Ebert's passing arm caught Hilliard Darby coach Paul Jenne's attention three years ago in preseason drills.
Adjusting to change has been an enormous part of Jeremy Ebert's growth process.
But only now, as the fulcrum of a dream season for Hilliard Darby (8-0), can Ebert laugh about the temper tantrum he threw in the high school parking lot some 3½ years ago.
The son of a football coach who had administrative aspirations, Ebert moved twice as a child, from Willard to Brooklyn (a Cleveland suburb), then to Perrysburg (near Toledo), where he spent eight years. Chip Ebert was hired as Darby's athletic director just before his son's freshman year.
The initial meeting between Jeremy Ebert and first-year Darby coach Paul Jenne almost didn't happen.
"The way Chip tells it -- and Jeremy is grown-up enough now to joke about it -- Jeremy was so upset about leaving all of his friends in Perrysburg … he refused to get out of the car and basically raised a fit," Jenne said. "I guess Chip had to literally pull Jeremy out of the car kicking and screaming and drag him into our stadium."
Ebert explained his behavior.
"I lived in Perrysburg from first grade through eighth grade, and that was home to me," he said. "I didn't want to have anything to do with Hilliard Darby or that football team."
Although not nearly as traumatic as the move, another major change awaited Ebert -- a running back/linebacker in middle school -- during preseason drills.
Jenne heard the unmistakable sound of a hard pass hitting someone's hands. Then he heard it again.
"I stopped everybody and said, 'Who threw that?' " Jenne recalled. "Someone spoke up and pointed to Jeremy. He was returning throws to his brother, Jarryd, who was trying out to be our quarterback.
"I said, 'Let me see you throw another one.' Jeremy had absolutely perfect form, like he had played the position his whole life. I told him his days as a running back were over, that he was going to be a quarterback."
Ebert didn't make a fuss this time. While his older brother started at quarterback in 2004 and '05, Jeremy was the starter on the junior varsity team as a freshman and then was used in specialty roles on the varsity as a sophomore.
"I got used to being quarterback because I knew I could always throw," he said. "I literally grew up on the football field with my dad being a coach, so I was always throwing the ball around with somebody."
Fully aware of Ebert's speed and athleticism, Jenne moved away from a wing-T offense.
In 2006, Ebert thrived in a spread offense. Operating mostly out of the shotgun, he passed for 1,182 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for 1,013 yards and seven TDs.
Ebert tweaked the offense gain this fall to become more of a zone-option team, with hard-running tailback Jordan Richeson and game-breaking Ebert sharing the running load. When teams crowd the line of scrimmage, however, Ebert -- who makes most of the play calls at the line of scrimmage -- isn't reluctant to burn them with the pass.
He has run for 746 yards and 12 touchdowns and passed for 840 yards and four scores, even though he missed almost two full games because of a sprained ankle.
A few major college programs, such as West Virginia and South Florida, recruited Ebert as a quarterback, but at 6 feet and 178 pounds, he viewed his future more realistically.
"I just faced the fact that there aren't many 6-foot quarterbacks around and that I'd be better suited using my speed to cover people or catch the ball and run," he said.
After Ebert ran a 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds at Northwestern's combine in June (he has run as fast as 4.34), the Wildcats coaching staff proposed using him as a slot receiver and returner. Ebert committed soon after.
"Going to a school of that caliber was the major thing," he said. "The slot receiver is a real important player in that offense. Changing positions was not a big deal to me. They'll coach me up.
"I've rolled with the changes my whole life. This won't be anything new."
By Steve Blackledge
The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday October 17, 2007 10:28 AM
Jeremy Ebert's passing arm caught Hilliard Darby coach Paul Jenne's attention three years ago in preseason drills.
Adjusting to change has been an enormous part of Jeremy Ebert's growth process.
But only now, as the fulcrum of a dream season for Hilliard Darby (8-0), can Ebert laugh about the temper tantrum he threw in the high school parking lot some 3½ years ago.
The son of a football coach who had administrative aspirations, Ebert moved twice as a child, from Willard to Brooklyn (a Cleveland suburb), then to Perrysburg (near Toledo), where he spent eight years. Chip Ebert was hired as Darby's athletic director just before his son's freshman year.
The initial meeting between Jeremy Ebert and first-year Darby coach Paul Jenne almost didn't happen.
"The way Chip tells it -- and Jeremy is grown-up enough now to joke about it -- Jeremy was so upset about leaving all of his friends in Perrysburg … he refused to get out of the car and basically raised a fit," Jenne said. "I guess Chip had to literally pull Jeremy out of the car kicking and screaming and drag him into our stadium."
Ebert explained his behavior.
"I lived in Perrysburg from first grade through eighth grade, and that was home to me," he said. "I didn't want to have anything to do with Hilliard Darby or that football team."
Although not nearly as traumatic as the move, another major change awaited Ebert -- a running back/linebacker in middle school -- during preseason drills.
Jenne heard the unmistakable sound of a hard pass hitting someone's hands. Then he heard it again.
"I stopped everybody and said, 'Who threw that?' " Jenne recalled. "Someone spoke up and pointed to Jeremy. He was returning throws to his brother, Jarryd, who was trying out to be our quarterback.
"I said, 'Let me see you throw another one.' Jeremy had absolutely perfect form, like he had played the position his whole life. I told him his days as a running back were over, that he was going to be a quarterback."
Ebert didn't make a fuss this time. While his older brother started at quarterback in 2004 and '05, Jeremy was the starter on the junior varsity team as a freshman and then was used in specialty roles on the varsity as a sophomore.
"I got used to being quarterback because I knew I could always throw," he said. "I literally grew up on the football field with my dad being a coach, so I was always throwing the ball around with somebody."
Fully aware of Ebert's speed and athleticism, Jenne moved away from a wing-T offense.
In 2006, Ebert thrived in a spread offense. Operating mostly out of the shotgun, he passed for 1,182 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for 1,013 yards and seven TDs.
Ebert tweaked the offense gain this fall to become more of a zone-option team, with hard-running tailback Jordan Richeson and game-breaking Ebert sharing the running load. When teams crowd the line of scrimmage, however, Ebert -- who makes most of the play calls at the line of scrimmage -- isn't reluctant to burn them with the pass.
He has run for 746 yards and 12 touchdowns and passed for 840 yards and four scores, even though he missed almost two full games because of a sprained ankle.
A few major college programs, such as West Virginia and South Florida, recruited Ebert as a quarterback, but at 6 feet and 178 pounds, he viewed his future more realistically.
"I just faced the fact that there aren't many 6-foot quarterbacks around and that I'd be better suited using my speed to cover people or catch the ball and run," he said.
After Ebert ran a 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds at Northwestern's combine in June (he has run as fast as 4.34), the Wildcats coaching staff proposed using him as a slot receiver and returner. Ebert committed soon after.
"Going to a school of that caliber was the major thing," he said. "The slot receiver is a real important player in that offense. Changing positions was not a big deal to me. They'll coach me up.
"I've rolled with the changes my whole life. This won't be anything new."