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Photo by Madison Hart

Since he first started playing football, Jack Sanborn, junior linebacker, had a unique inspiration to become the best player he can be, an inspiration that few other players possess.

Sanborn, who first started playing football for the Flames Football team in second grade, did not always want to be a linebacker. Sanborn would have rather been running the ball, but as time went on he wanted to tackle more instead.

“I was new to it, but it was something that I wanted to play,” Sanborn said. “I remember asking my mom in the first grade if I could play, but she would not let me, and when second grade came along, and I was able to play, it was something that I wanted to do and I really loved.”

Sanborn’s inspiration, according to him, is his father, who played as an offensive lineman for University of Oregon and the Seattle Seahawks in the National Football League.

“My father passed away when I was four, so basically all I knew about him was that he played football, and he played at a very high level,” Sanborn said. “[Football] was embodied into our family. I have two brothers and all of us love football. My older brother doesn’t play football [anymore], but he played [in high school] and he loves football. It’s both my brothers’ favorite sport. We’re a football family and honestly I’d probably say [it’s] because of our dad we are.”

Sanborn is unsure whether he will follow in his father’s footsteps and go for the NFL, but it appears that he is already on his way. He has already received nine Division 1 scholarship (as of 12/15/16) offers and he is only in his junior year.

“[Joining the NFL] is not something I think about often, but I want to be the best football player I can be,” Sanborn said. “If that is something that comes up later in life then that would be awesome.”

However, going for the NFL is not his current goal. Sanborn says right now he wants to play for his team and for the people who have helped him along his football career.

“I’m blessed. I’m thankful. I really could not do it without the guys on the field and the coaches and everything that they teach me,” Sanborn said. “I learn something new every day still, whether it’s Coach Proffitt or any other coach. So much of my success comes from [the coaches]. I make mistakes just like everyone else, [and the] players out there, they do so much to help me out.”

But Sanborn does not just receive help, he also adds a lot to the team with his attitude and confidence, according to Sanborn’s friend and junior quarterback Evan Lewandowski.

“He brings a lot of confidence to the team,” Lewandowski said. “Before games he gets us pumped up, and it helps us out on the field. As a team we appreciate him out there. He’s a big confidence booster and helps out the team a lot.”

Sanborn’s contributions to the team have helped him receive nine scholarship offers from Division 1 schools, four of them being Big Ten schools. However, Sanborn says he will not be committing to a school until later.

“I’m thankful for [the scholarship offers] and I’m extremely blessed, but I also have to realize what my priority is right now, and that’s these guys, this football team, this community, and Lake Zurich,” Sanborn said. “Right now, especially during the season, my main focus is on this team and getting better each and every week so that we can be the best team out there.”

Sanborn says he appreciates the Lake Zurich community and the opportunities it has given him. He says his favorite part of the team is its tradition.

“This program and everything this program stands for is much bigger than myself and much bigger than this team,” Sanborn said. “When you’re a part of it, it’s something special and you understand. Having this community, how they latch onto our football team, the support they show for our team, and having them at our games, it’s pretty awesome.”

According to Sanborn, the most important part of playing is making sure the team wins, even if his personal statistics drop because of it.

“I don’t play just for myself to pack the stats or anything like that. I don’t care about the stats during games,” Sanborn said. “I care about playing for the man beside me, and getting a ‘W’ on that scoreboard. Honestly, if I have two tackles and we end up winning the game, then that’s fine by me.”

With a football community so close together, it will be hard to say goodbye, according to Sanborn. He says the thing he will miss the most going away for college is the team.

“When you’re a part of the football team you’re around each other constantly. You really get close to every person on the team,” Sanborn said. “I will miss the coaches a ton, they’ve taught me so much and it hasn’t even been three full years on the team. I [can’t] thank them enough.”