Jake Hornibrook Talks Football, Family and Competitive Drive
David Shumate, GoDuke The Magazine
This interview originally appeared in the 15.2 issue of GoDuke The Magazine – September 2023
David Shumate: You look at the first quarter of the season and you guys are averaging about 200 yards a game rushing. How are you seeing the play up front? You guys seem to be dominating at the line of scrimmage.
Jake Hornibrook: Yeah, I think we have a lot of good like running backs and they're playing great. I think as an offensive line we're playing pretty well right now, playing well together, and it also helps when the quarterback's running a lot too. So, like I think we're just playing well together.
DS: It's an age-old question, I've talked to a bunch of different offensive linemen about this — do you prefer run blocking or pass blocking? It seems like it always leans one way, but I want to know where you fall.
JH: Yeah, definitely run blocking (laughing), it’s a lot more fun.
DS: Why is that? Why do you guys all seem to fall that way?
JH: I mean that's why you play O-line. Just get your hands into somebody and you want to move somebody against their will, that's why you play offensive line. So, it's a pretty easy question.
DS: When you take a look at your decision to come to Duke, I'm sure there's a lot that went into it. I know you said after you made your official visit, you canceled all the other ones and chose to come here. Take me through that process of choosing to leave Stanford and come to Duke.
JH: Yeah, well Coach Shaw stepped down initially, so at the end of the season I kind of wanted to explore my options and Duke was the first school that I came to. Coach Cushing reached out to me, and I knew him from high school because he recruited me at Northwestern, so I had a relationship with him prior and then came here and liked everything about it. I knew exactly what I wanted in a school after going through college before and then, you know, Duke just checked all the boxes, and I knew they had everything that I needed.
DS: You mentioned some of the boxes that were checked, I mean, it's obvious to draw a through-line between the schools. You're looking at Northwestern, Stanford, Duke, the academic piece is something all three have in common, but what were some of those boxes for you?
JH: I definitely wanted a great offensive line coach, somebody who's smart and can help develop me, and I also wanted a great strength training program. When I came here and sat down with Coach Feeley and Coach Cushing, it was like they had all that and more. So, I was really excited about that.
DS: You brought up the strength program with David Feeley. Expectations versus reality — what's it like to work with him?
JH: It's awesome. You know, he tells you, like when I came on the visit, he said, this is going be the hardest thing you'll ever do. And he wasn't lying, it was so hard. But now I feel so prepared for this season, and this is the best my body's ever felt and I thank him for all that.
DS: You mentioned Coach Cushing, and I'm sure Coach Elko was a piece of choosing to come here as well. How much last year at Stanford did you have a chance to see what was going on over here in Durham and the quick turnaround and how much did that play into your decision to choose Duke?
JH: Sure, well I guess during the season I didn't know too much. I was just focused on our team at the time. But at the end of the year, I saw the buzz around Duke, and I got to watch the bowl game, which was awesome. It just seemed like such a positive environment, and everybody seemed like they wanted to win and wanted to be a part of this. So, it was like a very cool experience seeing the bowl game and seeing how excited and just passionate everybody was about Duke Football.
DS: It was a slight change for you coming to Duke playing tackle versus playing guard a lot out at Stanford. How tricky is that? What goes into to playing those two different positions?
JH: Yeah, it's definitely a little different. I would say pass pro is definitely harder at tackle, but I think Coach Cushing has been a huge help when it comes to my development and making that change from guard to tackle and I feel very comfortable at tackle now. It's an exciting challenge and I've really liked it.
DS: Obviously everyone looks at the chance to play at the next level and things like that, that versatility, we've talked about that a lot here at Duke. Whether you're playing interior offensive line or out on the edge, how much does that help you when you look at your football playing days beyond college, having that versatility to play multiple positions?
JH: I mean, I definitely think that will be an advantage, to be a versatile player. I'm just trying to be the best lineman I can be right now and if that's at tackle or guard, whatever this team needs is what I want to do, and I definitely think that'll help at the next level.
DS: I want to ask you about your competitive side because you grew up, mom and dad both played sports in college. Your brother played football in the Big 10 and the ACC and your sister swam, I believe it was at Penn State. So, tell me about growing up in that household and how competitive it got.
JH: Yeah, definitely very competitive, I remember like one time as a kid we went on a family mini golf outing, and it was nuts. Everybody was like yelling at each other, like some serious fighting where it's breaking out. But yeah, very competitive family. Like whatever we do it’s very competitive.
DS: Since you brought it up, I might be able to guess the answer to this, but do you remember who won?
JH: (laughing) I actually forget who won, but I do remember being called out. I was winning and at one point my mom called me out and she was like “no way Jake's winning, he sucks!” We just like getting after it. It was funny, everybody's so competitive. I forgot who won, but it was hilarious when she did that.
DS: So many guys when they come and play at this level, whether it's coming up through high school or what have you, they were the most dominant player on the field growing up wherever they played. You grew up in a family that had so much athletic experience and competed at such a high level, did that help you? Maybe on the mental side of things, knowing what it takes to compete at this level because a lot of guys don't really have exposure to that early on.
JH: Yeah, I think it was definitely a very cool experience. Watching my brother go through it before me, him kind of paving the way and like whenever I had questions, I would just reach out to him or even my parents because they've been through the process before so they're very helpful knowing exactly like what to do. They were all a huge help.
DS: When you take a look at what you guys have done this season so far, obviously, starting to get some national attention and things like that, what do you think it'll take to continue to grow this as this season moves along? I talked to a couple of the guys, and it feels like, as well as it's gone, you guys feel like there's another level you can get to.
JH: Yeah, I think it's just like focusing on us and playing our best football because I think we haven't even hit our best football yet and we all know that. We just need to take it one game at a time, one week at a time and playing our best each week.
DS: One of the things we talk about with the coaches a lot and really guys around the team is the strength of the leadership on this team and a bunch of those guys are along the offensive line. Whether that's Jacob (Monk), whether that's Graham (Barton), what's it like to work with and learn from those guys?
JH: Yeah, it's actually awesome. Playing with Graham, asking him questions about playing the tackle position especially with me changing from guard to tackle, he was a huge help. Just bouncing questions off him and getting his feedback on the position, he’s been a huge help.
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