July 13, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
Typically a long-snapper is one of the most unassuming roles on a football roster, but apparently Illinois State senior Jake Weber has caught head coach Denver Johnson's eye after naming the Dunlap, Ill., native the first recipient of the W.E. Ruebush Endowed Scholarship for the 2006-07 academic school year.
The W.E. Ruebush (REW-bush) Endowed Scholarship, which was announced at the Northern Iowa football game last season, is named after the former Illinois State football team captain in 1932. Ruebush, who died in 1991, lettered four years as a center on the Redbird football team, before graduating in 1932. He also lettered two seasons in baseball and basketball and was active in the Gamma Phi Circus, the "N" Club, band, orchestra, Commerce Club, Varsity Club and the Philadelphian Debate Society.
"Jake is a quality student-athlete and is as fine of a deep-snapper that I've been around," Johnson said. "You don't fully appreciate (a long snapper) until you find yourself without one. My second year at Illinois State, we didn't have one and it cost us several ball games. I swore I would never go without a deep snapper again and Jake has done a great job for us and I expect him to do a great job again this year.
He is a great team player and would do anything that we would ask of him. Jake is also outstanding in the classroom and is very deserving of this recognition."
Weber has been the dedicated long snapper for the Redbirds for his first three seasons. In 2005, he handled all the special teams' snapping duties, by serving as the short snapper on field goal and extra point attempts.
He carries a 3.25 grade point average while majoring in accounting and has been named the AFNI Athletics Honor Roll four times. He is scheduled to receive both his bachelor's and master's degree in accounting in May 2007.
"I would never expect to receive anything like this, especially at the type of position I play," Weber said. "But this means a lot to me and I'm honored to be the first Redbird to receive the Ruebush Endowed Scholarship. I came to Illinois State to receive my degree and school has always been my first priority. But, when football became a reality I had to find a way to balance them both. It is really difficult in the fall and I have to put in a lot of extra work, but I've really enjoyed playing football here and it's been worth it."
The W.E. Ruebush Endowed Scholarship is one of 14 endowed scholarships available to Illinois State student-athletes funded by private donors. It is also one of eight fully endowed scholarships in athletics and the only one dedicated to football.
For more information about supporting this, or any other Illinois State University endowments scholarships, call The Redbird Club office at (309) 438-3803.
