2. Hoop Dreams
Before he was a standout tackle for Washington State, Lucas wanted to play professional basketball. In addition to starring on the field, Lucas lettered on the court at Archbishop Murphy in Everett; just 25 miles away from Seattle. He was coached on the field by fellow Everett native and former NFL player Jerry Jensen.
Lucas started on the court for Archbishop Murphy as a freshman in 2013, the same year Jensen took over as football coach. The multi-sport athlete would go on to letter on the basketball court for the Wildcats, averaging over 16 points per game and 10 rebounds.
But Jensen advised Lucas that he had a great chance at playing in the NFL. Jensen suggested that Lucas and teammate Kyler Gordon could potentially be drafted to the league. In an interview with Bleacher Report leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft, Jensen reflected on his thoughts nearly 10 years ago.
“A lot of kids that size are led to believe they are basketball players, or pushed to that,” Jensen said.
“I talked to his parents very early in his high school career about his potential in football to do some really good things, and they said, ‘Good luck!'”
Turns out Jensen was right after all.
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