Jake is one of 4 college football players to have the opportunity to be on the EA Sports 2012 NCAA College Football video game cover. Every year the game features a top collegiate football on the cover of the case, and this is the first year the public gets to vote.
Here is a trailer for the contest. You can place your vote for Jake here.
Jake is competing with Alabama’s Mark Ingram, DeMarco Murray of Oklahoma and Nick Fairley of Auburn.
With only 2 days remaining until kick off between the Washington Huskies and the #18 Nebraska Cornhuskers, the Huskies had their final practice as a team in San Diego, the location for the 2011 Bridgepoint Holiday Bowl. Wednesday’s team walk through is the only preparation left for Thursday night’s game.
Husky Coach Steve Sarkisian knows the task is tall and that Nebraska is more than a formidable opponent, but he is confident his team will play better this time around.
“Well, I think the biggest thing we’d like to do is at least put our best foot forward. The press conference after that game (56-21 loss), my major disappointment was the fact we just didn’t play very well.” Sarkisian said. “I can live with the 
fact they played a very good football game against us, but I’d just like to think we can play better than we did. To have that opportunity again is one that I think we’re embracing.”
For the team, getting to the Holiday bowl in Jake’s final season and winning the last 3 games are signs that the Washington Football program is making strides in getting back to competing at the top of the conference. But, more importantly, the reward of a bowl game for the seniors is fitting for a group who has worked through 4-5 years of challenging times.
“I’m thankful for our senior class, and I’ve said this numerous times that for everything they’ve been through – the adversity on the field, off the field, the ups, the downs, the coaching change and four and five years of it, and to what we went through this year – I’m appreciative of the fact they came to work every day with a great mindset and set a real tone for this football program as we move forward. This is a great reward for them to be able to play in a bowl game before their career was over, and they’ll always be part of this family.”
The Huskies, 6-6, were 3rd place in the competitive Pac 10 this year with a 5-4 league record, and Nebraska was runner up in their conference. Because both Oregon and Stanford made BCS bowls, Arizona and Washington were selected for the Alamo and Holiday Bowls and rounded out the conference bowl appearances for the season. Nebraska, on the other hand, lost to Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game for the right to represent the conference in a BCS game, so at 10-3 they find themselves at the Holiday Bowl for a second consecutive year.
For a full preview of the game, you can visit the breakdowns from ESPN.com or CBSSports.com. For more of a Hukser fan take, you can visit here.
The game will be televised live on ESPN and ESPN3.com at 7:00 p.m., Thursday Night from San Diego.
In what was a highly anticipated announcement for the University of Washington and their fans, the Huskies were selected to play in the Holiday Bowl vs. the Nebraska Cornhuskers, a December 30th contest that will act as a rematch of the two teams.
The Huskers (10-3) traveled to Seattle in September and beat the Huskies soundly, 56-21, so it will be another great opportunity to play what many consider a top-10 caliber team. Nebraska is currently ranked 18th in the
country, and although the task is tall, Jake and the team are looking forward to proving they are better than their performance earlier in the year.
”I just think from anybody who plays sports and is competitive, anytime you have the opportunity to go out and improve on a performance or a game that you didn’t do your best in individually and as a group it’s always a good opportunity and it’s something that all competitors hope for, I think,” Jake said.
This is the second Holiday Bowl in a row for the Huskers, as they played the Arizona Wildcats last year. They won that game emphatically, 33-0. Conversely, the bowl game is the first for the Huskies since 2002, a loss suffered vs. Purdue in the Sun Bowl.
Nebraska is coming off a tough loss to Oklahoma, 23-20, in the Big 12 Championship game, while Washington won the Apple Cup against their rival WSU, 35-28, on Saturday.
After Sam Bradford of Oklahoma was taken #1 overall in yesterday’s first round of the NFL draft, those who questioned Jake’s return for his senior year because of injury risk were quieted. And, as the rest of the draft played out, it continued to act as a validation that injury risk is somewhat of a misleading reason to leave early for the NFL.
“It’s a good lesson for everybody that you can come back and play your senior year and still fulfill your NFL dreams and aspirations at that level,” Locker said of the Bradford selection. “… It’s a good message for everybody in college football.”
You can find a couple of articles that elaborate on the first round of the NFL draft and it’s impact to Locker’s decision in the Herald Net and also the Seattle Times.
Jake also appeared on ESPN2′s “First Take” this morning at 8:30 a.m. The video may be on-line sometime today here.