The Center of It All

Center Ben Jacoby transferred to GSU from Ball State, where he played in the GMAC Bowl during his sophomore season.

With two years of Division I playing experience under his belt, Ben Jacoby is the closest thing to a veteran on head football coach Bill Curry's roster. Convenient, then, for the coach that his most seasoned player lines up in one of the offense's most important positions. That position, center, also happens to be where Curry carved out an All-Pro NFL career.

For Jacoby, that means he's always under Curry's watchful eye.

"He always has an eye on me, one of them, somehow," Jacoby said. "If I do anything wrong, he's seen it before and he gives me advice on how to correct it. Which is really good because it's making me a better player."

Jacoby, 22, a junior computer information science major from Lawrenceville, Ga., transferred to GSU last fall from Ball State, where he redshirted his freshman year. He was a reserve for the Cardinals in 2008 when they won the Mid-Atlantic Conference West Division title and played in the GMAC Bowl. 

An All-Gwinnett County selection his senior year at Buford High School, Jacoby was recruited to Ball State by the team's former head coach, Brady Hoke, who was a teammate of Jacoby's father, Douglas, on the 1978 Ball State team that won the Mid-Atlantic Conference.

When Hoke took the head coaching job at San Diego State after the 2008 season, Jacoby said he decided to take a look at the upstart program back home.

"I heard about the program here, interviewed with the coaching staff, and I fell in love with the idea of starting something like this," he said.

For Curry, signing an experienced player to anchor the Panthers' first-ever offensive unit was paramount.

"We expect our center to set the pace," Curry said. "Center is tough because he has to look at fronts, make calls and understand the protection, then snap the ball and go into a blocking assignment. Ben is versatile, he's a veteran and we're really lucky to have him."

Jacoby says he relishes his leadership role on and off the field, even if it includes a little extra scrutiny from his coach.

"I know they expect more from me, but I like that," he said. "I'm an older guy, I've played for two years, and I love that I can come in and help some of the younger guys."

Curry said Jacoby showed true leadership when he suited up for all 60 fall practices and often took every snap. 

"That's hard," Curry said. "I'm proud of Ben for being an outstanding leader, and being a leader under physically demanding circumstances."

Though it's been a while since Jacoby suited up for a game, he said all the workouts and practices readying for the Sept. 4 kickoff have been tough but essential in building the team's camaraderie. 

"We've all grown together," he said. "Toward the end of our fall practices, you could tell that you could count on everyone here, and that they had your back, and it was really cool to see that growth. I came here to lay the foundation - not to come in and mess around, but come in and have a great team off the bat."