Ti20 Off the Boards: Jacob Likes Interview

Tigers in 20: A Memphis Tigers Athletics podcast

Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Jacob Likes joins us in the latest episode of Off the Boards.

Jacob is a native Memphian who played high school ball at Christian Brothers High School before committing and ultimately enrolling at the University of Memphis in 2019. Last year he started and played in 11 games at center for the first time in his career. Jacob talks about the importance of the offensive line and how, under the leadership of OL coach Jim Bridge, they have adopted a "5 fingers/1 fist" mentality where all the linemen learn and master all 5 positions on the offensive line. Jacob described the continuity and trust that was built in the offensive line from last year and how there play made it easier for the Tigers to introduce two freshmen, Seth Henigan and Brandon Thomas, into skill positions. The 2021 offensive line was anchored by Dylan Parham, and Jacob goes into detail about his experience playing with a lineman like Dylan who was the rock of that group.

Jacob shared the message that the veteran players at Memphis relay to the incoming freshman and young guys on the team. He understands how most young players come in to college and believe that the transition will be easy for them, but he explains how every players has a "Welcome to Memphis" moment where they are introduced to college football at its highest level. Because all the veteran players have experienced that "Welcome to Memphis" moment they are ready to help the young guys dig in and grind and grow into the player that they were recruited to be. His call to action to those players is that they need to put their head down, follow directions and get better before they can expect to see the field in a productive role.

In the second segment, Jacob talks about his recruitment while he was at CBHS. He describes how he felt pressure from some at CBHS to hold out for SEC offers, but decided to join the Tigers because of the relationship he built with Ryan Silverfield. He describes a desire that he had to not waste the time of any school that was recruiting him, and because his relationship with the staff at Memphis was so good, he made the decision to commit early on. He shares how much he enjoys playing at the Liberty Bowl since he grew up watching the Tigers as a kid.

About Off the Boards:

Off the Boards is a video/audio segment where GT247 sits down with local and national sports figures.

Typically, Off the Boards has been a video segment, but we are now turning it into an audio podcast as well to better meet the needs of all of our followers. This new format will allow all of GT247's content to be more accessible to listeners.

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