DaytonDailyNews.com

NEW ORLEANS — His name comes from the 1971 John Wayne film Big Jake, but that isn't the only time capsule-like trait about the LSU running back.

"A lot of people tell me," Jacob Hester said, "I play like a lot of old-time guys."

It stretches far beyond the field. Hester, the 6-foot, 232-pound senior, has played a football career that took him from freshman defensive lineman at Evangel Academy in Shreveport, La., to uncelebrated recruit to the BCS Championship Game against Ohio State on Monday.

One of the more popular characters on either team, Hester has developed a fan base far beyond Louisiana with his brute strength, strong rushing and nontypical body type.

"Jacob," said quarterback Matt Flynn, "means everything to this team."

As much as he's a running back, Hester is a team educator on past pop culture. He loves crooners, but Elvis to him is still king, taking up quite a bit of space on his iPod. Teammates jokingly call him grandpa for the way he searches for the King's music on road trips.

He also includes Miles Davis and other jazz and blues musicians among his favorites when he's not watching John Wayne movies with his father. "Rio Bravo" is his classic, and Hester's father, Joey, has named each of his sons — Jacob and brothers Adam and Chance — from the Duke's movies.

Hester's father also started him in football before there was a team for his age group, so he joined his older brother's team and fought for respect from the older kids. When he got to high school, coaches moved him from defensive end to nose guard to running back to wide receiver as Evangel won a mythical high school national championship with Hester and now-USC quarterback John David Booty (who was an absent honorary groomsman at Hester's wedding last summer).

The joke goes that Hester kept LSU from having the nation's top recruiting class in 2004 when the team offered him a scholarship late. Once he arrived on campus, coach Nick Saban tried moving Hester to safety, but he found his way to fullback to get onto the field before time opened up at running back.

Since, he has delivered, rushing for 1,017 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He is known more for his power than his speed (his fastest 40-yard dash time is 4.49 seconds), which teammates have experienced.

"One time back in the spring, I'm going and running after a linebacker, and here comes Hester right in the hole and I got a little taste of it, he plowed right over me, and it hurt," said Ciron Black, an LSU offensive lineman. "I don't even think he saw me, I was just running trying to get a linebacker and he just hit me right in the ribs, and I went down."

Beyond his numbers, Hester is an emotional leader for the Tigers, who also use speedsters Keiland Williams (458 yards) and Trindon Holliday (351 yards) in the backfield. But neither has the spirit or the calming influence that Hester projects into the LSU huddle.

Like the time against Arkansas when Flynn entered the locker room heading into overtime. When he learned LSU would have the ball first, he trotted back onto the field.

"And the crowd starts cheering," Flynn said. "I get to the huddle and Jacob's just laughing at me. He's like, 'You loser, that's straight out of a movie.' "

Like Hester, or at least his name.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389

or knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com

Jacob Hester

Class: Senior

Position: Running back

Height: 6-0

Weight: 232

High school: Evangel Academy, Shreveport, La.

Stats: 1,017 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, 14 catches for 106 yards and 1 touchdown