Every generation of football player has seen it.
That teammate who quietly takes care of business on and off the field, rarely says much, but leads by example. Then comes that moment when that player speaks up and lets someone have it. When he talks, everyone - and that means everyone - listens.
That's what Wesley Chapel High has in middle linebacker Jake Fisher.
"I'm kind of opening up a little bit on the field because I'm a senior and I'm growing up a little bit, more than my previous years," Fisher said.
He doesn't have much choice.
When Ben Alford took over the Wesley Chapel program, he began evaluating players. Fisher, a captain last season, stood out and garnered the same title this fall. As such, he has control of the defensive huddle.
"Our defense is going to go how he does," Alford said. "Like I tell Jake, 'If we're in a game, in a crunch-time situation, I'm not on the field with you. I can't look in their face. If something's going on, they're not giving you good effort, they're not giving us good effort and you don't think they need to be in the game, you tell them to take their butt to the sideline.' "
The day that happens - if it happens - there likely will be eyes in the huddle transformed into saucers.
"My teammates, if I say something, they listen because I'm not a talker," Fisher admitted. "So when I say something, they kind of take it in and they'll listen to me."
Fisher earned a deeper level of respect and trust during the offseason.
At the start of spring practice, he was given a few things to work on during the summer. When he was tested at the end of July, he had made gains in his speed drills and weightlifting.
"When he comes to work, he comes to work, and that's something you need, especially in a middle linebacker," Alford said.
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