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Steve Stein
Contributing Writer

j

ake Slobin carries a special
incentive to succeed with
him every time he steps onto
a football field.
Two knee injuries dashed his older
brother Steve Slobin's dreams of playing
college football. Now Jake has an oppor-
tunity to play football in college, and he
plans to make the most of it.
The All-State lineman from
Farmington Hills Harrison High
School is headed to Grand Valley State
University in Allendale to play for the
Lakers, one of the most successful
small-school programs in the country.
He signed his national letter of intent
last month.
"Ever since my brother first got hurt,
I've been playing football for him:'
Jake said.
Steve and Jake were teammates on
the undefeated 2010 Harrison squad
that won the Michigan High School
Athletic Association Division 2 state
championship with a 38-28 win over
defending state champion Lowell at
Ford Field.
But Steve, a senior tailback that sea-
son, suffered a torn ACL and meniscus
in his right knee early in Harrison's
opening playoff game against
Birmingham Brother Rice.
He returned for the state title game
and played briefly, but he was far from
100 percent.
The 2011 Jewish News Male High
School Athlete of the Year went to
Adrian-based Siena Heights University
to help launch the school's football
program, but he injured his right knee
again (slightly torn meniscus) during
practice early in his freshman season
and his football career was over.
He left Siena Heights and is now a
student at Michigan State University
"There are no guarantees in football.
Any play can be your last:' Jake said.
And there are no guarantees about
making it back to a high school state
championship game even when you
play at a storied program like Harrison
for a legendary coach like John
Herrington.
After getting there when he was a
sophomore, Jake never made a return
trip.
"My sophomore year was a great
experience he said. "To get a chance

to play with my brother and his
friends was unbelievable. That was a
great group of guys."
Harrison went 14-0 in 2010. The
Hawks beat eventual Division 1 state
champion Lake Orion during the regu-
lar season, and blasted through peren-
nial powerhouses Brother Rice, Warren
De La Salle and Rochester Adams to get
to the state championship game.
Jake started for Harrison for three
seasons at offensive guard and defensive
tackle. Now a 6-foot-1, 255-pounder —
his brother was 5-11, 175 pounds dur-
ing his playing days — he's projected to
play defensive tackle at Grand Valley.
But probably not this fall.
"Because Grand Valley is so deep at
every position, recruits usually sit out
their freshman year with a red-shirt
season:' Jake said.
"That's fine with me. I know I'll be
playing eventually"
Jake earned athletic and academic
scholarships from Grand Valley. A 3.75
grade-point average student, he plans
to major in communications then head
to law school and perhaps be a tax
lawyer someday.
"Something to do with numbers,"
he said.
Here are some impressive numbers.
Jake was credited with 97 tackles
during his senior season at Harrison,
including 30 for losses and eight quar-
terback sacks.
He was named to the Detroit Free
Press and Detroit News All-State teams
and will play in the Michigan High
School Football Coaches Association's
annual East-West All-Star Game this
summer.
Jake moves well for a big guy. Need
evidence? He played quarterback in
youth football and he was a fullback
briefly at Harrison before he was moved
to lineman when he was a freshman.
The two brothers weren't the only
members of the Slobin family on
Harrison's state championship team.
Their father, Billy Slobin, has been
the team's volunteer strength and
conditioning coach for 28 years. Billy
played center for Harrison during the
1978 and 1979 seasons. He's a senior
vice president at Southfield-based
Capital Mortgage Funding.
Billy and Tracy Slobin and their sons
live in Franklin.

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March 7 • 2013

53