JacobRodgers

Before anyone asked him to

Movement before position. Speed, agility, and footwork twice a week at NX Level — building the athletic base that every lineman technique depends on. Stance work, first-step quickness, hip mobility, change of direction. Three years before his first meaningful snap.

Investment precedes attention.

The turn

The car-ride moment. He'd let himself slip — and he recognized it before anyone else did. Structured strength training started the next week alongside NX Level. Trench Training with Joel Nellis — former Wisconsin Badger, now one of the state's top lineman development coaches — begins the same year. Learning the barbell and the position at the same time: stance mechanics, fit position, base block fundamentals. These numbers are not impressive. They are the floor.

The commitment is player-driven, not parent-driven.

He built a team around himself

365 sessions. Personal trainer Justin Quintero at Performance Edge for compound strength — power cleans, front squats, bench, deadlift progressions built for OL/DL. Trench Training with Joel Nellis continuing — hand combat, punch timing, drive blocks, swim and rip moves, pass-rush technique. NX Level for speed and agility. IMG camps for national-level competition. Deliberate nutrition — protein-focused to build muscle, not just grow. Training alongside athletes two and three years older, by choice.

Four distinct training inputs at age 13. He stopped training for football — he started training like a football player.

Opponents heard his name before the snap

Started every game at both DT and OG — the full game, both sides of the ball. Opposing coaches called him out by name, told their players to watch for 79. Semi-finals — one of the last four teams standing. Key defensive player in every round. Started setting up and breaking down his own film between games.

When opposing coaches call out your number before the snap, the evaluation has already started.

The curve has not flattened

Pewaukee HS Football team training just began — rising sophomore, fall 2026 cycle. Strength training four days a week, NX Level twice a week, stretching twice a week at Stretch Zone, yoga once a week at Sattva Yoga, plus ongoing mental performance coaching through IMG Academy — and an IMG Academy camp is up next week. Track and field: first in discus, and #6 in the nation in 9th-grade indoor shot put — also first in the state among 9th graders (indoor and outdoor), with a 49'1" best, 2nd at the WIAA Division 1 Conference against all grades, and a Division 1 Regional finalist. Every training track running at once — recovery, strength, speed, position, sport, and mind — none dropped, all progressing. The rate of improvement has not slowed.

#6 in the nation in 9th-grade indoor shot put. Sophomore team training just began. Still in the steep part of the curve.