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Today, we have one of the most experienced players on defense for the countdown.
Jacob Thieneman - Senior
Noblesville, Indiana - Guerin Catholic
6’1”, 210 Pounds
Safety
2018 Projection: Starter at safety
If you were like me last summer, you though T.J. Jallow had the strong safety starting spot locked up. But, after a poor spring and summer, the job was wide open.
Walk on, Jacob Thieneman seized the job and never looked back. He started in 13 games and quite frankly was one of our best players on defense. When he was not on the field, the defense wasn’t the same.
Last year, he had 80 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, and recovered a fumble. Not only that, he was academic all B1G. Jacob returns to the strong safety position with it locked up. There is not a ton of competition and he played so well last year, there wouldn’t be anyway.
Thieneman is the perfect strong safety. He can cover tight ends and backs out of the backfield, but he also does a great job of rolling down in cover 3 and essentially becoming another linebacker.
I look forward to seeing Jacob have another outstanding year.