Dripping with sweat, his piercing dark eyes studying playbooks, Jake Gilbert '98 looks like he could step back on the field and hound quarterbacks the way he did as a player and a leader on the Wabash football team.
That was in the mid ‘90s, when Gilbert, a 6-0 and 230-pound linebacker for the Little Giants, excelled in the classroom as a history major and on the football field.
Now he will be working the other side of the ball as offensive line coach for head coach Chris Creighton.
A native of Indianapolis, Gilbert is returning to Wabash after five seasons as head coach at nearby North Montgomery High School, where he won 30 games and produced four All-State and 10 Academic All-State players.
It’s been nearly ten years since Gilbert was in a classroom at Wabash. But this fall the newest addition to the Little Giant coaching staff will be learning all over again.
"Coming to Wabash as the offensive line and assistant track and field coach fits perfectly into my career goals," Gilbert said. "I want to someone who impacts lives. I can think of nothing better than to come here and learn from this staff.
"To work with outstanding, driven coaches will make me a better coach, a better person, and a better family man. I can grow in this place in a lot of ways."
In some ways, nothing has changed since Gilbert was a student at Wabash, where he earned Hewlett Packard All-America Honorable Mention honors in his junior year, and still ranks eighth in school history in quarterback sacks and fifth in career sack yards. Statistics aside, Gilbert was almost instantly a leader on the football field.
That leadership has always come naturally to Gilbert. It’s part of his makeup.
"It’s who I am," he said. "When I was a sophomore, the seniors came to me and said, ‘Lead this team.’ I picked up a substantial leadership role early and it grew each year.
"I was also fortunate to have a lot of good leaders around me. Kyle Kuba (linebacker) and Chris Ings (quarterback) made it easy for me to make that transition. You find your spot on the team and lead in a way that is best for everyone. Sometimes that’s vocally. Sometimes it’s by your actions. I was fortunate to be able to do both.
"But it’s also not surprising. Wabash creates leaders. You go through the list of alumni and see guys who were leaders in athletics, in groups and organizations on campus while they were here. Now you see what they’re doing today and their still leaders, only today they’re leaders of industry and leaders in the community."
While leadership has come easily to Gilbert, his role as a leader will change in some ways this year.
Gilbert is looking forward to the change.
"It’s tough to give up being in charge and being the guy who makes all the decisions for a program," he noted. "But I’m coming to a place that’s built on trust. I’m ready to accept my role here, just as I did at North Montgomery. As the head coach of the Chargers, my role was to be that final decision maker. I don’t have to chart a course for a program here at Wabash. I’m comfortable with that.
"We have a collection of people with similar goals and priorities. That comes together with an institution that provides opportunities for people to excel — both students and staff.
"I had a chance to try and come back to Wabash a few years ago. I didn’t pursue it, and two months later I found myself at North Montgomery. My life took off in a positive way because of that. I believe it prepared me for this step in my life. I’m ready to lead, and ready to learn."\
His life includes his wife, Christina, and his two sons, Logan and Jackson. Part of his decision to stay near Indianapolis throughout his career, however, has also stemmed from the support of his grandmother, LaVonne Gilbert.
"When looking at jobs to apply for and accept, it’s always been extremely important to remain loyal to my grandmother," Gilbert said. "I made a commitment to stay relatively close to her to make certain her needs are met.
"To find a position that fit that requirement, is at a quality college program, and is at Wabash College is perfect. It’s also a real blessing Christina is working here too. We will have more things in common to talk about at home, and may get more chances to spend time together.
"During my time as a student at Wabash, I didn’t fully understand the importance of going through the difficult times, the late nights studying, and writing all those papers. The spirit, the compassion, the camaraderie and the challenges rolled together here prepare you to be a man. I’ve done it, and I wasn’t anyone special. But that experience has made me who I am today."
Photos - (Top left) Gilbert explains a practice drill to the Wabash offensive linemen.
(Right and Sports Home Page) Sophomore Tony Neymeiyer goes one-on-one with Gilbert in a blocking technique demonstration.